Rumor Highlights: Marbury Bound for Boston?

January 3, 2009

There is a trade rumor going around the NBA that Knicks star Stephon Marbury may be headed north to the Boston Celtics.

If and when Stephon Marbury wins his release from the Knicks, his next destination may be Boston, according to a report by ESPN.com on Friday. If that chain of events comes to pass, it could set up the ultimate experiment in team chemistry.

In their race to the NBA title last season, the star-studded Celtics were a paragon of selflessness and sacrifice. They called it ubuntu, an African word for unity. In his 15-year career, Marbury has often been labeled a chemistry killer, though usually with much stronger adjectives.

A Celtics-Marbury marriage would be fascinating theater for anyone interested in group dynamics. It may never happen, however.

The Knicks will not release Marbury unless he agrees to a buyout, and Marbury, who is being paid $20.8 million this season, has shown no interest in negotiating. There have been no substantive talks since Dec. 1, when Marbury stormed out of a meeting with Donnie Walsh, the team’s president, after 15 minutes.

Marbury’s stance remains firm. He recently told The New York Post that he would not accept a pay cut and that, furthermore, he wanted to be reimbursed the $400,000 in salary that the Knicks withheld as punishment for his refusal to play in a Nov. 26 game at Detroit.

The Knicks, who are believed to be seeking a concession in the $2 million range, also have not changed their stance. Walsh will not release Marbury outright and has no incentive to do so. Barred from practices and games, Marbury is no longer a distraction to the team. The Knicks can simply wait until Marbury’s contract expires after the season.

There had been speculation that the Knicks did not want to see Marbury sign with certain Eastern Conference teams (including Boston) and therefore would structure a buyout with a condition that he sign with a Western Conference team. But such an arrangement would not be permitted under N.B.A. rules.

Also, a person involved in the Knicks’ internal discussions said that Walsh was more concerned with Marbury’s going to a team like Miami, a rival for a playoff spot. Team officials admittedly would prefer not to see Marbury hoisting the Larry O’Brien N.B.A. championship trophy in June, but it is not their greatest concern.

The Celtics’ apparent interest is curious, but understandable. They lost two valuable bench players over the summer, when P. J. Brown retired and James Posey signed with the New Orleans Hornets. Although they believe their starting five has improved since last season, the Celtics are concerned about their depth.

Marbury turns 32 next month and is well removed from his days as a top-10 point guard. But he is still a capable scorer and a potentially valuable third guard, if he is willing to back up Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. Marbury played well in the preseason, but he has not played in a regular-season game in nearly a year.

One thing seems certain, based on the Celtics’ team culture. They will not sign Marbury unless everyone agrees, including the team president, Danny Ainge; Coach Doc Rivers; and the team’s three best players, Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Those discussions have not yet taken place, a team official said.

Rivers emphasizes chemistry over just about everything else, so he may have to be persuaded. Marbury clashed with his last two coaches in New York, Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas, which is partly why the new coach, Mike D’Antoni, decided not to play him this season. When D’Antoni and Walsh arrived in the spring, they also quickly discovered that Marbury was terribly unpopular with his teammates.

None of this means that Marbury will not end up wearing shamrocks and playing for a title in June. It just means that, if he does, it will make for a fascinating case study for the folks at M.I.T.