Are the New York Knicks so focused on the summer of 2010, when they will enter the bidding for LeBron James, that they are neglecting matters presently at hand?
It really seems so.
The Knicks have 15 players on their roster but essentially only have 13 players available. Guard Stephon Marbury has been banished from the team long ago and is collecting pay checks for literally doing nothing.
Guard Cuttino Mobley, whom the Knicks acquired in late November in a trade with the Clippers, officially announced his retirement because of a potentially-dangerous heart condition. But he still is listed on the Knicks’ roster.
The Marbury saga continues on with seemingly no end in sight. The organization and Marbury don’t seem to be any closer to coming to an amicable divorce agreement since the beginnning of the season, when it was made clear that Marbury would not be stepping on to the court in a Knicks’ uniform, in a real game.
Reports out of New York now speculate that Knicks president Donnie Walsh is waiting until the Feb. 19 NBA trading deadline before making any decision regarding Marbury.
Does Walsh really believe that there is any team foolish enough to take on Marbury and the remainder of his $20.8 million contract, when they could get Marbury on the cheap (if some team does want him), by signing him to a veteran’s minimum contract, once the Knicks finally jettison him?
Perhaps Walsh is waiting this long with the premise that once Marbury is set free, he would be so rusty from not playing for so long, that he could not help the team that signs him.
If it is true that the defending champion Boston Celtics have their sights set on adding Marbury, they’re doing the same thing that they did last year regarding guard Sam Cassell.
Even as rumors (often fueled by Cassell himself) flew that the Celtics were interested in acquiring the veteran of two previous NBA championships, Boston executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge publically remained non-committed, until Cassell finally negotiated a buyout of his contract from the Clippers and subsequently was waived.
Aided by the Clippers’ hardball negotiation tactics with Cassell, the Celtics were able to just sit back and wait. Then and only then, did the Celtics step up and sign Cassell.
Marbury, like Cassell did, is evoking the name of Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, in sparking the rumors of his future landing being with Boston. Marbury has been quoted as stating that he would love to be reunited with his former Minnesota Timberwolves’ teammate K.G. Marbury said immaturity, on his part, was the root of any past problems that he might have had with Garnett in Minnesota.
If Marbury does indeed end up playing for the Celtics this year, that likely would mean Boston would waive Cassell and officially start him in a quasi coaching-internship type program. Cassell stated last season that the 2008-2009 season would be his 16th and last as a player, before he embarked on a coaching career in the NBA.
As for Mobley, the New York Post reported that the league must rule on the Knicks’ disabled player exception before Mobley can be waived and a roster spot opens. The Knicks had hoped that matter would have been routinely processed, which is why they had immediate plans to sign center Patrick Ewing Jr., whom the team waived in training camp. The younger Ewing has been playing in the D-League.
But with a league maxium of 15 players on the roster, the Knicks don’t have any room to even sign an available player to a 10-day contract.
If the disabled player exception is approved, it is worth $4.5 million. The Knicks could trade it for two spots, equal to that amount or break it up in the same manner that teams do every summer with their mid-level exception.
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