Of a Marc Stein report claiming estranged Knicks PG Stephon Marbury hoped to sign with the Boston Celtics, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt sneered, “…and I’d like all rivers and streams to be filled with chocolate pudding.” Messy for the ecosystem then, that Marbury’s dream might be coming true. While Slam’s Marcel Mutoni alludes to the likely impact on Boston’s team chemistry (“the idea of Celtics fans gritting their teeth after being forced to accept Stephon Marbury as one of their own makes me very happy for some odd reason”), Newsday’s Alan Hahn isn’t nearly as excited, promising “LeBron James and the Cavaliers certainly hope Marbury brings his crazy up to Beantown”
It’s a curious fit for Marbury, who wouldn’t get a lot of minutes behing Rondo and would have to contend with Eddie House for ticks at the two behind Ray Allen. Marbury and House have a private feud, which came public during a preseason game at the Garden in October. How does that get settled in the Boston locker room?
But Marbury may prefer to latch on to a winner just to clean up his reputation and hope he can parlay a respectable playoff run into a new contract in July.
I will say this, however, when it comes to the buyout talks. If Stephon really had a team already interested and the team put a dollar amount on the table, you think he’d have wasted the past month holding in a stalemate with Donnie Walsh?
Hahn predicts that in the event Marbury negotiates his buyout, Patrick Ewing Jr. is likely to be summoned from Reno, where he’s averaging 10.5 points per game. Reno’s not scheduled to visit Austin’s D-League entry until April, however, so if I want Pat Jr. to autograph an old menu from the Gold Club, looks like I’ll have to do it at the Garden.