Yardbarker: Stephon Marbury

Monday Rumors and Free Agent News

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:45:17 -0500

This off season has been very interesting and looks like it isn't going to slow down any time soon. When the season starts, quite a few teams are going to look very different. The Clippers became relevant with the Baron Davis signing. Richard Jefferson is a Buck and Yi is a Net. Jermaine O'Neal is a Raptor, to name just a few changes. The Celtics starters should remain the same, but their bench is going to be quite different. With all the rumors going around, the changes aren't even close to being finished. This should be an interesting week with the salary cap numbers come out on Tuesday and free agents can officially sign on Wednesday. Monta Ellis is being courted by the Heat, Cavs, Knicks and Warriors. He is looking to get $10 million and the only way that the Heat, Cavs or Knicks could offer him anywhere near that is through a trade. If the Warriors let him go, they must get a starting point guard in return because of Baron Davis bolting to the Clippers. More on the Corey Maggette saga. Now, the Detroit Pistons are offering him their full MLE. So, to recap, the Warriors, Spurs, Sixers, Jazz, Magic, and now the Pistons are bidding for his services. He opted out of $7 million dollars from the Clippers and has said that he would take less if it meant going to a contender. Previously, he had narrowed his choices down to the Spurs or the Celtics but now with the Pistons bidding as well, he has a lot of choices. The Globe reported that Doc called him and since he and Doc go way back and are good friends, that may give the Celtics some leverage. He said that he feels very comfortable with Doc and with everything else equal, that could be the difference. The top two draft picks have been struggling somewhat with Rose battling tendenitis in his knee and Beasley suffering an injury in his first practice. Both are back to practicing and both plan to play on their summer league teams. Richard Jefferson is scheduled to be introduced to the media on Monday. He was very unhappy with the trade and up until now has declined to talk about the trade. You have to feel for the Bucks. Last year, their draft pick was unhappy with going to Milwaukee and they had a hard time convincing him to come. This season it is Jefferson who is balking at the trade for said draft pick and unhappy about going to Milwaukee. But, I think the Bucks made themselves better with this trade. Hoopsworld brings up an interesting scenario. Marc Bartlestein represents JR Giddens, James Posey, Eddie House and some others. They suggest that Danny took Giddens in the first round to court favor with Bartlestein in the signing of James Posey. And, they mention that the Celtics inability to get a simple rookie contract done for Giddens may be a bit of gamesmanship on their part since Posey is so far rejecting their offer and making the rounds of other teams interested. In the NY Daily News, Frank Isola talks about NY needing to get rid of Marbury to change the culture of the team. And then he mentions that Marbury may end up in Boston or San Antonio as a back up. Marbury is a chemistry killer. He has been a selfish player his entire career. He won't be a fit in Boston. I'd rather have Tony Allen with all his flaws as a point guard backing up Rondo than Marbury. At least Tony is a team player. The Atlanta Hawks have two very good restricted free agents in Josh Smith and Josh Childress. Philly, who has about 12 million in cap space available is making a strong push for Smith. The Sporting News reports that their general manager has said that the Hawks would match any offer made to either Josh, but with the Hawks ownership stil in flux, there are indications that is the offer is large enough for either, the ownership would let them go. The Sixers with as much as 16 million to spend on free agents may make him a good offer. Atlanta has a great core of young players with Josh Smith as one of the best. They took the Celtics to 7 games and that wasn't just because the Celtics were sleeping. The Hawks played great and for them to allow the team to break up now when they are on the verge of taking the team to the next level would be a shame. 2010 will be quite the free agent class with LeBron James being the cherry on top that several teams are eyeing and making all their moves around freeing up enough space that summer to make him a max offer and lure him away from Cleveland. The Nets, Knicks, Cavs, Bulls, Heat and Spurs all have made some moves with 2010 in mind and according to the Sporting News these are the most likely destinations for LeBron to land. In my book, Cleveland has the best chance of keeping him. LeBron has said he wants to stay in Cleveland and they can offer him more than any other team. That is going to leave a lot of teams with a lot of cap space looking elsewhere. Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, Tracy McGrady, Michael Redd, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade will also be free agents that summer and any of them would be a nice consolation prize for the teams that lose out on LeBron.

Bulls' Chris Duhon joins Knicks

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:33:41 -0500

After having some off-the field issues with the Bulls organization last season, guard Chris Duhon has signed a 2 year deal with the New York Knicks, for a shocking $12 million. After spending 4 up and down years with the Bulls, Duhon has to be excited to start running with new coach Mike D'Antoni, who says Duhon will be the starter on a roster already featuring Stephon "Starbury" Marbury, Nate Robinson, and Mardy Collins at the PG position. Duhon, starting over Marbury and Robinson?! I don't know about that, he seems like a good backup option but not sure if you want him being the new Steve Nash in NY. Your thoughts?

LeBron James is the Mane Man

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:06:06 -0500

Hanging out over at Etsy, I stumbled on Joel Kimmel's art. Joel is in the process of creating a series of unusual basketball portraits, including the one of LeBron below.

The Elton Brand Domino Effect

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:51:40 -0500

The offer the Goldenstate Warriors, have made to Elton Brand has an interesting ripple effect on the rest of NBA's free agents. Monta Ellis is in a nice position to hold the team hostage should Elton Brand decide to resign elsewhere rumors are he'd be looking for upwards of 10 million per season and the Goldenstate Warriors having just lost out on Baron Davis and Brand, would be face a very tough decision with their young star. Then turn to Corey Maggette he wants to play in Orlando but they have only a mid level exception to offer and are looking to add both a PG and a wing, right now both their targets: Corey Maggette, Chris Duhon are holding out for the whole thing. Then the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers are quietly poised to cause "Offer Sheet" mayhem as they like both the Josh's from the Atlanta Hawks and will offer Josh Smith a 5 year deal over the 42 million that the Hawks have offered him and could go as high as 5 years worth as much as 67 million. This would put alot of pressure on the Hawks as they already have the large contracts of Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby, but supposing they match. The Sixers will just turn their attention to Josh Childress their second target and begin the process again albeit with reduced figures, my guess is one of these Josh's will be a Philadelphia 76er next season. The Knicks are not so quietly looking for a PG, having already offered Chris Duhon slightly more than half their 5.5 mid level veteran exception, and should Duhon sign elsewhere they woulld immediatly turn their attention to others like: Sebastian Telfair, Tyronn Lue, Jannero Pargo and Keyon Dooling all the while embattled former star Stephon Marbury waits in the wings having not benn bought out and currently not part of the teams plans. Stephon Marbury has something to prove and when he is bought out, it will be very interestng to see where he ends up. Last if this drama isn't enough Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng's situation haven't played out yet at all Chicago is in tough as they just have too many guards and players like Kirk Hinrich and Shawn Marion are already being shopped by their teams.

Knicks getting right to the point

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:49:10 -0500

Only two days into free agency and the New York Knicks are wasting no time addressing their need at point guard. The team has already extended an offer to former Chicago Bulls backup Chris Duhon. They've also reached out to the recently freed Sebastian Telfair and Tyronn Lue, while letting Stephon Marbury know he will be with the team come training camp in October. Lets look at their free agent options.

Create The Caption #234

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:45:30 -0500

(Usually) Everyday I'll throw out a photo from the AP or one of the bigger sites and you provide the caption. Hilarity ensues. I'm also adding a handful of links at the bottom of the page that you should check out each day.

Last Thursday's Winners....

"I can't believe OJ Mayo didn't want our extra ticket to The Lion King...do you think Beasley wants to catch Little Mermaid tomorrow?"- Matt

"Dude - you know this is Stephon Marbury's ride? I am totally not sitting on this seat."- Steve

"The Lopez Twins can't contain their excitement as they prepare to pull all sorts of "The Parent Trap" shenanigans on their future unsuspecting teams, such as Robin showing up for Brook's practices and Brook for Robin's! Hilarity ensues!"- Telecomedian

"'...and after five more minutes of pretending the floor is lava, we'll try to make a cushion fort!'"- Santa Claustrophobia
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Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of ~~Jason Whitlock~~ Joe Alexander passed out at Bucks HQ?

Daily Links:

Get Your Announcer Vote On (SS Reporters)
The Other Adam Jones Wants To Be Called Pacman Now (Bugs and Cranks)
Pavel Datsyuk Loves Some James Brown (Going Five Hole)
On Dysfunctional Fandom (LOCG)
Some Very Odd MLB Moments (The Love of Sports)
ESPN Classic Brings Back Old School Wrestling (Cake Rocks the Party)
About That Mayo-Love Deal (Empty The Bench)
A WSOP Musical? (Deuce Of Davenport)
An Extremely Hot Cheerleading Candidate (Uncoached)
No More Interleadue Play (Crashburn Alley)
Video Of The Celts Partying In Vegas (Boston Sportz)
Here's One For All Of The Cubs Fans (Ryan Parker Songs)

Kevin McIdiot

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:04:39 -0500

It's official, we now have the Timberwolves Trilogy. Go out and buy the box set and please, please, please buy tickets to watch our team lose 50 games next season.

Get Rid Of Steph

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:53:03 -0500

Stephon Marbury needs to go no ifs ands or buts about it. When he was brought to the Knicks it was like "OH MY GOD WE HAVE STEPH!!!!" now we are saying the same thing but in a different way "OH MY GOD WE HAVE STEPH!!." At this point if the Knicks don't pick up a veteran point guard I'd be more then happy with a point guard by committee. We are in a rebuilding phase and we aren't going to win anyway so what do the Knicks get out of starting Steph? D'Antoni could rotate Nasty Nate, J-Crawford, and Mardy Collins at the point. Also people are saying that Gallinari could be a point forward in the mold of a Lamar Odom or the man who coined the position point forward Scottie Pippen. Only time will tell with Gallinari he is 19!!

Team USA

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:20:01 -0500

Staying on basketball for a little bit more, I wanted to take a look at the U.S. Olympic squad. Before I get into it, let me just say that it's hard for me to handle my country losing at anything. Maybe it's because I spent the first 9 years of my life in a real "Red White and Blue" part of Texas, and have grandfathers that fought on Destroyers in WWII, or maybe I'm just a sore loser. Either the case, if there's one team I root for that I don't accept losing from, it's the United States Men's Basketball team. I know how talented the rest world has become at playing basketball, but this is a sport that is still dominated by Americans at the highest level (NBA). Since 2000 the team has taken a step back mainly due to a lack of participation from most of the elite American ball players. In 2004 we sent what I would've considered our 2nd and 3rd teams to the Olympic Games in Greece. The team's starting line up consisted of Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, LeBron James, Carlos Boozer, and Tim Duncan. Sounds like a good enough squad, but far from our nation's best. The first team should've consisted of a 4 year younger Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, and a still dominate Shaq at center. Now I understand that Garnett, Shaq, and Kidd already have Gold medals from past Olympics, but it's not like Manu Ginobili will miss a single international competition even though he's already won Olympic Gold. This year's team does have some of the same faces that failed miserably 4 years ago, but with good reason. In the last 4 years LeBron has become a figurehead in the league, Carmelo has led the league in scoring, and although Dewayne Wade has struggled to stay healthy, he's still the most talented young 2-guard in the world. I like Carlos Boozer, but he replaces a guy I like a lot more, Amare Stoudemire. He'll be the only guy missing from what should be a once again dominate American squad. Boozer and Stoudemire both were on the 2004 team, but Boozer has gotten older, smarter, and has been an All-NBA selection (2nd and 3rd team) in each year since '04. Another guy who's grown a lot in the last 3 years is Dwight Howard. The starter at center for the U.S. is young and has pride for his country that should keep him coming back for Gold until he retires. We know what starters Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant will bring to the table, but it's going to be interesting to see these young guns who have truly come into their own play against elite international competition (Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh, Howard, Melo, and James). I believe one key to sure victory is Michael Redd; no country in this world will come close to defeating this team if he hits his 3's. With the All-World skill that the 3 U.S. point guards (Kidd, Paul, Williams) have for driving into the paint and dishing out to an open shooter, Redd will get many chances every game to make big shots. And if he hits a majority of them, the games will be over after the 3rd quarter. Oh I guess I forgot to mention, not only do expect victory, but I expect domination. I grew up on the Dream Team; destroying every country they faced 3 Olympics in a row (1992-2000). I still think we're that talented, and will always be more talented, so I don't accept any country coming within 10 pts of this squad, or any other squad we put together from now on. LeBron, Melo, Paul, Williams, Howard, Bosh, and Stoudemire seem to have a lot more pride for their country's basketball heritage than older players (i.e., Shaq, Garnett, McGrady). Like me, the young men in the previous sentence grew up watching the first NBA players participate and dominate in '92, so hopefully they want what I want, to see this country return to that form. The only concern I have is with head coach Mike Krzyzewski's decision to not take Tyson Chandler to Beijing. Chandler played very well last summer for team USA during Olympic qualifying, and without the help of one of the key's to his success, Chris Paul. CP3 was left off last summer's roster by coach K, and Paul made it quite clear that he was irked by the decision. But sure enough, after an MVP caliber season, we'll finally get to see the most talented young PG in Red White and Blue. We already know that Kidd will start, and Paul will come off the bench, I just think he would be better off coming off that bench with a teammate. Chandler is a good defender and rebounder, but becomes a scorer when Paul is on the court. A 7'1" scoring threat sounds pretty good to me. I think Deron Williams could have been left off to make room for Chandler. Williams will be a good asset in China, but Chandler could've been a force. The roster may look similar to the one Larry Brown put together 4 years ago, but things should run a lot smoother.

The Knicks Pick the Italian Kid

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:36:24 -0500

Gallinari is a big question mark mainly because virtually nobody has seen him play in the United States which is why he was sort of booed at the Draft. Knick fans have nightmares about drafting Fred Wies over Ron Artest so can anybody really blame us fans for having some doubts? Going on attributes, the problem I have with Gallinari is that he is a toothpick and will get thrown around in the NBA he is 6'8 210. I know it works for Tayshawn Prince but 6'8 210? He better be on a rigorous weight lifting schedule from now on. I hope this pick works out and Knick fans end up like Will Ferrell in the movie "Kicking and Screaming" yelling "PASS IT TO THE ITALIAN!!!"

Derrick Rose is a less creative Steve Francis with Jason Kidd's acceleration and defensive anticipation

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:32:44 -0500

1. Overview : Derrick Rose is similar to Steve Francis in build, style and athleticism. He has an explosive vertical and first step, combined with excellent strength, size and body control that enables him to get to the basket and finish. Also, though not quite built like a truck like Jason Kidd, Rose is a big kid who can truly fly up and down the court. Rose's athleticism enables him to sneak in for rebounds and take them down to the other end and finish, all at once. Derrick Rose's sole season at Memphis indicated that Rose's first instinct is to drive and score, rather than pass, and that he needs the ball to be effective. 2. Player specifics : Derrick Rose has an excellent dribble drive. He can crossover, hesitate, and he has that finishing power dribble that he takes before he takes off for the rim. When he is at the rim, he can contort, draw contact, and do whatever he has to to finish. I've noticed that as explosive and big as Rose is, he does not get enough separation to finish with a dunk in traffic. This usually indicates that there is wasted and telegraphed movement at the point of attack, and in Rose's case, his angle of attack in the halfcourt is slightly wider than optimal (too much East-West movement). Also, there is a longer than optimal lapse between stationary position and the attack, and gives the defense time to set up. Players like Steve Francis and Allen Iverson had almost no wasted movement when they made their move, even as college players. Derrick Rose must also work hard on his jumpshot. His mechanics are a little too tight, and slows down his release. Also, although he is compared to Jason Kidd, he has not shown much yet in terms of being a pure passer. He almost always looks for the shot first, and has not yet shown the ability to demoralize defenses with his passing. In transition is where Rose is at his best. He can really get up and down the court, and although he wastes motion in the halfcourt, he doesn't in transition. With defenders not set, Rose will finish with power almost everytime he gets his chance. What makes Derrick Rose so dangerous is his ability to ignite breaks by getting defensive rebounds or forcing turnovers, and this is where he reminds people of a young Jason Kidd. With his strength, size and quickness, Rose really has a chance to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. For career outlook and team fit, go to original article

Eat Your Wheaties! 10 Boxes You'd Never See

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:20:39 -0500

Over at Cuzoogle, they've spent a few hours masturbating and a few minutes putting together a list of Wheaties boxes you'd never see…cause Wheaties only features Champions, and these aren't Championship level people…it's funny right? Right? Shut up. Just go have a look. I found it a good way to pass time while I was waiting for my PO Officer to finish my transfer papers.

Turning up the Heat at #2

Thu, 22 May 2008 12:14:18 -0500

At least Pat Riley knows the Miami Heat need a lot of help. The team president is considering trading out of the #2 pick in the draft, instead of drafting either Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. "We need help. We need it now," Riley said. "Can [Rose and Beasley] help a team like ours? That's how they're going to be measured." There are already teams lining up for the possibilities of trading up in the draft. Those teams include the Seattle Supersonics, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets and none other then the New York Knicks.

Q-Rich excited to be a Knick?

Sun, 18 May 2008 15:29:22 -0500

Who would ever though a player would be excited to play for the New York Knicks? Not me, and I'm a Knicks fan. Ever since Isiah Thomas was brought aboard the mood has just soured every year, no matter what the players have said. But now with Mike D'Antoni the tide of emotion seems to be changing. Yeah, we've all heard already about the struggles D'Antoni and Stephon Marbury had with each other out in Phoenix but there is at least one player who can't wait for the season to get underway. That player is none other then the oft-injured Quentin Richardson.

What is it like for D'Antoni going from Nash to Marbury?

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:14:52 -0500

Stephon Marbury right now is thinking that maybe he can also become an MVP with D'Antoni coaching him... but in reality how far is it from going to marbury to nash? 620 degree turnaround?