Enough is Enough Marbury Must Go

The message is clear, the basketball gods could not have set up more of an ideal situation, Stephon Marbury must go. It has been well documented that Marbury needs to be the biggest personality in town or he has to go, and by all means we should let him go.     Larry Brown is a demanding Coach whose “My way or the highway” approach is strictly enforced. Unfortunately for the Knicks this policy includes a prototypical point guard, a player that can drive and create opportunities for his teammates while not caring about the stat sheet. Stephon Marbury is not this point guard, who has to score in order to boost his ego. The unfortunate part of it all is the Knicks do not have a true point guard on the roster as rookie Nate Robinson is inexperienced and often forces the tempo of the game, trying to sometimes be overly dynamic.
     It has also been clear that all though Stephon Marbury has had successful personal statistics each team he has left has done clearly better the following year. For example the 1997-1998 campaign was Marbury’s final full season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Marbury could not play being the second fiddle in town behind Kevin Garnett, but the Timberwolves for a decent 45-37 behind his 17.7 points per game and 8.6 assists per game. During the 1998-1999 season Marbury was sent packing to the Nets.
     With the Nets Marbury was never able to put anything together, granted at the time he did not have all the talent surrounding him. In his final season with the Nets during 2000-2001 the Nets had a woeful 26-56 record, Marbury averaged nearly 24 points a game and 7.6 assists per game. The following year with the trade that sent Stephon Marbury to the Suns and Jason Kidd to the Nets the Nets had a 52-30 record and made it to the NBA Finals to square off against the Los Angeles Lakers.
     The most prevalent example of Marbury’s departure increasing the overall record of the team could not be any clearer than the situation with the Suns. During 2003-2004 Marbury averaged a little over 20 points per game and 8.3 assists per game but the Suns had a mere 29-53 record. The following season after the acquisition of Steve Nash the 2004-2005 Suns had an NBA best 62-20 record.
     With Marbury style not fitting to that of the prototypical Larry Brown point guard the time could not be any better to get rid of him. Marbury unfortunately has not been a proven winner, and the Knicks are in desperate need of someone of that caliber. The Knicks are currently on a 7 game skid and all fingers are pointed to the lone veteran running the point. If Larry Brown isn’t satisfied with Stephon Marbury’s play and the dividends are not paying off by all means he should be gone.
     If Isiah Thomas can bare to part ways with Stephon Marbury and get a caliber Veteran player in return the 2006-2007 New York Knicks could be a team to be reckoned with. With rookies, Channing Frye, David Lee, and Nate Robinson getting quality minutes the experience will only help in their maturation and development. Not to mention the youth of Eddy Curry. The Knicks have two young big men in which they can build a team around. Eddy Curry is just 23 years old and full of potential and Channing Frye is 22 years old and has proven himself ready to play in the NBA.
     Hopefully Isiah Thomas will realize the blatant signs given to him by the basketball gods and trade away Stephon Marbury. If the past is any indication of the future the Knicks will be bonafide playoff contenders during the 2006-2007 NBA season.