alamo50
11-09-2008, 04:27 AM
By MICHAEL WALLACE
[email protected]
The true irony in this debate is that the fates of Stephon Marbury and Jamaal Tinsley are in the hands of two men who had worked closely together for several years. Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh were executives with the Pacers before Walsh bolted to New York before the season.
So it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Bird and Walsh are handling these two volatile cases with a similar approach. Apparently, Bird and Walsh are more willing to pay their headaches to rust away on their respective rosters than to buy out Marbury and Tinsley and free them to move on elsewhere.
Economics have made a bad situation even worse. There are plenty of teams in need of veteran help at point guard. Among them is the Heat, which has four point guards listed on its roster -- Mario Chalmers, Chris Quinn, Marcus Banks and Shaun Livingston. But only one in that group -- the rookie Chalmers -- appears even remotely close to being the Heat's answer.
The simple solution to ridding New York and Indiana of their problems would be through a trade. But teams aren't exactly lining up to take on Marbury's $21 million expiring contract or the remaining two seasons and $14.7 million left on Tinsley's deal beyond this season.
And because neither team is interested in releasing either player outright, Marbury is left to sit at the end of the Knicks' bench in street clothes every night. But at least he's allowed in an NBA building. Tinsley was not invited to Indiana's training camp and has been exiled in Atlanta, where he has been working out to stay in game shape.
What at first seemed like a necessary get-tough policy from fed-up team executives who grew tired of Marbury's crazy antics and Tinsley's legal problems is shifting toward something on the verge of vindictive spite.
Marbury, 31, and Tinsley, 30, are both talented players who are not only approaching the end of their contracts, but also the end of the prime period of their careers. For whatever reason -- despite who is at fault -- two highly productive players at the most difficult position to fill are wasting away valuable games and months.
While Walsh reportedly doesn't agree with coach Mike D'Antoni's decision to keep Marbury on the inactive roster, he has vowed not to interfere with the coach's plan.
''I'm not going to set a timetable,'' Walsh told the New York Post. ``I want to make sure everybody's on the same page with what we're trying to do.''
As hard as it might be to fathom, Marbury has essentially become a martyr. Some Madison Square Garden fans who once vehemently booed him and wanted him run out of town are now chanting for him to be put in games.
At some point, someone's going to blink in New York, be it Marbury changing his stance on not taking a penny less than what he's owed on his contract or D'Antoni realizing that it is beyond foolish to keep the best point guard on the team planted on the bench while the losses pile up.
There is no such clamor in Indianapolis for Tinsley, who has become practically a forgotten man. As a result, Marbury certainly has a better chance to play for his team than Tinsley does. But Tinsley is easier to unload in a trade than Marbury. Both are simply a phone call away from seeing what has become a hostage situation come to an end.
The urgency factor clearly favors Marbury, whose presence around the team will continue to be a distraction. It's tough for D'Antoni to build a foundation when there are hazard signs and quicksand on one side of the locker room. Either way, the Knicks are going to pay him. They might as well just cut Marbury loose and let another team play him.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/basketball/story/762960.html
[email protected]
The true irony in this debate is that the fates of Stephon Marbury and Jamaal Tinsley are in the hands of two men who had worked closely together for several years. Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh were executives with the Pacers before Walsh bolted to New York before the season.
So it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Bird and Walsh are handling these two volatile cases with a similar approach. Apparently, Bird and Walsh are more willing to pay their headaches to rust away on their respective rosters than to buy out Marbury and Tinsley and free them to move on elsewhere.
Economics have made a bad situation even worse. There are plenty of teams in need of veteran help at point guard. Among them is the Heat, which has four point guards listed on its roster -- Mario Chalmers, Chris Quinn, Marcus Banks and Shaun Livingston. But only one in that group -- the rookie Chalmers -- appears even remotely close to being the Heat's answer.
The simple solution to ridding New York and Indiana of their problems would be through a trade. But teams aren't exactly lining up to take on Marbury's $21 million expiring contract or the remaining two seasons and $14.7 million left on Tinsley's deal beyond this season.
And because neither team is interested in releasing either player outright, Marbury is left to sit at the end of the Knicks' bench in street clothes every night. But at least he's allowed in an NBA building. Tinsley was not invited to Indiana's training camp and has been exiled in Atlanta, where he has been working out to stay in game shape.
What at first seemed like a necessary get-tough policy from fed-up team executives who grew tired of Marbury's crazy antics and Tinsley's legal problems is shifting toward something on the verge of vindictive spite.
Marbury, 31, and Tinsley, 30, are both talented players who are not only approaching the end of their contracts, but also the end of the prime period of their careers. For whatever reason -- despite who is at fault -- two highly productive players at the most difficult position to fill are wasting away valuable games and months.
While Walsh reportedly doesn't agree with coach Mike D'Antoni's decision to keep Marbury on the inactive roster, he has vowed not to interfere with the coach's plan.
''I'm not going to set a timetable,'' Walsh told the New York Post. ``I want to make sure everybody's on the same page with what we're trying to do.''
As hard as it might be to fathom, Marbury has essentially become a martyr. Some Madison Square Garden fans who once vehemently booed him and wanted him run out of town are now chanting for him to be put in games.
At some point, someone's going to blink in New York, be it Marbury changing his stance on not taking a penny less than what he's owed on his contract or D'Antoni realizing that it is beyond foolish to keep the best point guard on the team planted on the bench while the losses pile up.
There is no such clamor in Indianapolis for Tinsley, who has become practically a forgotten man. As a result, Marbury certainly has a better chance to play for his team than Tinsley does. But Tinsley is easier to unload in a trade than Marbury. Both are simply a phone call away from seeing what has become a hostage situation come to an end.
The urgency factor clearly favors Marbury, whose presence around the team will continue to be a distraction. It's tough for D'Antoni to build a foundation when there are hazard signs and quicksand on one side of the locker room. Either way, the Knicks are going to pay him. They might as well just cut Marbury loose and let another team play him.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/basketball/story/762960.html