Marbury, Celtics close on deal?

Marc Stein is reporting (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3804977) that disgruntled Knicks guard Stephon Marbury may be inching closer to stepping foot back on the basketball court - with the Celtics:Nearly one year since Stephon Marbury last played in a regular-season game, signals are getting stronger that the New York Knicks' outcast will eventually make his comeback with the Boston Celtics.That still depends largely on Marbury's ability to negotiate his release from the Knicks after weeks of fruitless and oft-contentious buyout talks, but sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com this week that Boston is Marbury's preferred destination if he manages to become a free agent and that the Celtics are indeed hopeful of signing him.Celtics general manager Danny Ainge did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a New Year's Day holiday for the entire league and has generally refused to address the possibility of signing Marbury. Yet it's believed that the Celtics' concerns about their depth, after losing James Posey and P.J. Brown from last season's title team, have swelled noticeably since they followed up the best 29-game start in NBA history at 27-2 by losing three of the next four games on the road.With Brown telling the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Wednesday that he is "officially retired" and Dikembe Mutombo having re-signed earlier this week with the Houston Rockets, Marbury easily ranks as the most accomplished low-cost veteran that the Celtics can add to their bench in-season. Boston also knows it would have the option to simply release Marbury without significant salary-cap consequences if he fails to click as a backup or proves unwilling to accept a secondary role.It appears that the biggest obstacle to such a move is Marbury actually securing a buyout from the Knicks in a timely fashion as opposed to reservations Boston might have about Marbury's impact on team chemistry.Although it has been widely assumed that Celtics forward Kevin Garnett would resist a reunion with the controversial point guard -- after Marbury broke up their Minnesota parternship in less than three seasons together by forcing a trade to New Jersey -- one Celtics source insists that Garnett has voiced no opposition to the idea of signing Marbury for the rest of the season to strengthen Boston's backcourt depth behind starters Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen.When asked specifically about the likelihood of Marbury joining the Celtics this season, the source predicted that "it will happen."