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Beer: Knicks Should Move Marbury

It has been an adventurous summer already for Mr. Marbury.

First there was the wild interview on NBC's Mike'd Up (here's the youtube clip).

Then Stephon embarked on the month-long Starbury Movement Tour II, which runs through July 29th. This is a tour of 38 U.S. cities over 17 days to promote Marbury's eminently affordable ($14.98 per pair) shoe line. (While Marbury has earned a reputation as a cantankerous presence in the locker room and on the court, what he has done and continues to do for the less fortunate among us is nothing short of incredible and deserves to applauded loudly.)

And for the last week, Marbury has been blogging about his experiences on the tour via the New York Post's website. In one of Marbury's blog entries, he makes the surprising proclamation that he will play professionally in Italy once he finishes the final two seasons left on his NBA contract. "I'm not just thinking of doing it, I'm going to do it," Marbury declared. "My wife loved it there. It's like a [David] Beckham thing." Marbury states that he will try his hardest to bring a championship home to New York before he takes off overseas. However, maybe it's best for Marbury's beloved Knicks if he plays the final two seasons of his NBA life in another team's jersey?

Here is the thinking behind the idea...

Marbury is owed 42 million dollars over the next two season ($20.1 million in '07-'08 and $21.9M in the final year of his deal). He will turn 31 this winter and the wear-and-tear of 11 NBA seasons has taken its toll on his body. Marbury has missed a total of 30 games since the start of 2005-2006 season due to an assortment of leg and ankle injuries. The most significant ailment is the chronic knee tendonitis he deals with on a daily basis.

While Marbury is clearly on the downslope of a fine career, the majority of his Knicks teammates are younger players trying to establish themselves. The Knicks are not a team on the cusp of a championship. In fact they haven't had a winning record since the 2000-2001 campaign. And they haven't won a playoff game since April 29th, 2001.

The Knicks have some solid, young pieces in place but are still a couple of years away from being a serious contender. Amongst the players that would be considered the core of the Knicks future (Eddy Curry, David Lee, and the newly acquired Zach Randolph), Randolph is the oldest, and he just turned 26. Other contributors include Renaldo Balkman (23 years old), Mardy Collins (22), Nate Robinson (23) and this year's first-round pick, Wilson Chandler (21).

Thus, when the Knicks are actually ready to make a deep run into the playoffs, much less compete for a title, Marbury may be floating down a river in Venice. And who will be the Knicks point guard at that point?

Perhaps the Knicks should look to move Marbury this summer, which would not only clear his monstrous contract off the books, but New York may actually be able to get some value in return. There are quite a few quality teams in the league that could benefit from Marbury's skills. Starbury proved last season that he still has game left in his legs. He played arguably the best basketball of his Knicks career over a stretch from December through February. He finally accepted his role as a distributor and facilitator of the offense instead of looking to dominate the ball and force his own shot. He was content feeding the ball into Eddy Curry in the post and knocking down shots when the defense sagged or attacking the basket when the opportunity presented itself. In addition, Marbury proved to be one of the Knicks most capable perimeter defenders.

As a result, Marbury could be appealing to a team that feels they are on the verge of a championship and could use one more piece, in the form of an established and accomplished NBA point guard, to push them over the top. I assume Mark Cuban and the Mavs wouldn't mind adding Marbury's experience and skill set to their lineup. And Stephon would likely do a wonderful job setting up LeBron James for the PG-starved Cavaliers.

An ideal match may be the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant has been belly-aching all summer that Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak haven't done enough to surround him with quality parts. Marbury is the type of scoring point guard that Phil Jackson prefers in his triangle offense. And the Los Angeles Lakers clearly need an upgrade at the PG position, as Smush Parker had started 162 straight games from 2005 through 2007.

However, the most difficult part of trading Marbury would be finding a way to match up contracts. While it is always difficult to move a player making max-money, it certainly can be done. (If the player formerly known as Stevie Franchise can get traded twice in 15 months, anything is possible).

From the Knicks perspective, trading Marbury would be appealing because it would rid them of his dour on-court demeanor - sulking with a towel over your head is not the ideal behavior you want your captain to exhibit. (The other thing the Knicks would have working for them would be the historical precedent of benefiting by trading Stephon Marbury - see the Nets post-2002 and the Suns post-2004) In addition, New York could possibly secure a much needed point guard of the future. The Knicks do not currently have a clear-cut successor set to take over after Starbury sets sail for Sicily. Nate Robinson (forgive me if I don't get too excited over his Vegas Summer League MVP trophy) is a shooting guard trapped in a 5'7" body. Similarly, Jamal Crawford is a shooter, not a passer. Mardy Collins, although he played well towards the end of last year, is likely a career backup. Dan Dickau, who came over in the Zach Randolph deal, is also a sub at best.

Re-examining a possible fit with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks could ask for LA's 2007 first-round draft pick, Javaris Crittenton. Javaris Crittenton is a big point guard with tremendous upside. How about swapping one Georgia Tech PG that left school after his freshman year for another? If the Los Angeles Lakers included Kwame Brown's expiring contract (worth over $9 million), they'd be over halfway there in term of matching up money. The Los Angeles Lakers could also include Vladimir Radmanovic's terrible contract (Knicks would likely shy away from that - but with Isiah you never know), or they could look to get a third team involved to help balance out the money.

See more at www.hoopsworld.com