Marbury would surely derail Celts' repeat bid News Dallas Mavericks

Long before he honored the Auerbachian way in Boston, Doc Rivers knew a thing or three about ugly New York exits.

He was a point guard for the Knicks coming off major knee surgery, and stuck behind Derek Harper and Greg Anthony on Pat Riley's depth chart. Rivers was 33 years old in December of 1994, and his career was running dangerously low on time.

So Rivers stormed into Riley's office one day and demanded his release. Player and coach engaged in an argument so heated and profane that staff members within earshot were sure they were seconds away from breaking up a fistfight.

No punches were thrown, no treaties were signed. Riley cut Rivers, who signed with San Antonio.

The point? Rivers was never going to hold the terms of Stephon Marbury's disengagement from the Knicks against him, even if Marbury's escape from New York made Doc's look like a walk in Central Park.

So the Boston Celtics, defending NBA champs, are preparing to hire Marbury, whose record reeks for itself. Marbury hasn't won a single playoff series in a dozen seasons, didn't even win a single playoff game as a Knick, and stands among the more prominent contributors to the Olympic disaster in Athens.

Once upon a time, the gifted young playmaker left Kevin Garnett in Minnesota because he was jealous of Garnett's standing and wage. Now Marbury will try to salvage a career he's worked so hard to destroy by jumping aboard Garnett's two-peat train.

Boston will live to regret this. Somehow, some way, this seemingly benign attempt to bolster their bench will cost the Celtics between now and the middle of June.

For starters, Marbury hasn't played a game in 13 months. He has spent that down time making a complete fool of himself, making Joaquin Phoenix's behavior on Letterman look perfectly reasonable, and there's no reason to believe Marbury won't advance the trend on the Celtics' watch.

Wednesday's action

Parker scores 39; Spurs beat Blazers
Streaking Jazz pull away from Wolves
Hornets hand Pistons 8th straight loss
Harris stays hot, scores 42 for Nets
Knicks can't handle Howard, Magic
Pacers point guards gut Grizzlies
Iguodala, Sixers snap 4-game skid
Mavs avenge ugly loss to Bucks
Nuggets survive scare from Hawks
Bobcats beat hapless Kings
Randolph, Clippers shock Celtics

FOXSports.com analysis

O'Connor: Marbury may spoil Celtics
Rosen: Utah's Williams indispensable
Rosen: Alston, O'Neal must deliver
Galinsky: NBA Power Rankings

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"I don't know him that well," LeBron James once said of Marbury. "But I couldn't have a guy like that on my team."

Marbury has embarrassed himself by quitting on his employer, by alienating teammates, by conducting bizarre interviews, and by testifying about his back-of-the-truck romp with an intern in the Knicks' sexual harassment case.

Donnie Walsh, team president, did him a huge favor by agreeing to a buyout before March 1, allowing Marbury to remain eligible for the playoffs. It was more than Steph deserved.

So is the Celtics' uniform. Rivers and his players made that jersey special again, and there was no need to dishonor the green by sliding it over Marbury's shoulders.

Without adding a significant player from the outside, Garnett's return would've made Boston strong enough to defend its title. Garnett is a legacy player, Pierce and Allen remain hungry, and Rajon Rondo is a terrific young playmaker who is more mature in his third season than Marbury is at 32.

This is a marriage of inconvenience. While the Celtics are playing for a ring, Marbury is playing for a contract. He doesn't have one for next season, and Boston is merely the forum for his audition, his chance to hook the next sucker GM.

Marbury won't have his eye on the one-for-all, all-for-one prize, and the smart money says that will manifest itself in a poor decision on the court, or off it, at the worst possible time.

The Celtics are betting against those odds. They're choosing to believe Marbury can shake off his 13 months of rust, his five-year absence from the playoffs, and his rich history of making functional teams dysfunctional to help win Title No. 18.