Bill Russell Blames the Knicks For Marbury Drama
What was prohibiting Stephon Marbury from playing a positive role in the locker room, while also contributing scattered but valuable minutes off the bench back when he was in New York earlier this season? Though everyone is quick to point the finger at his head tattoo, his “horrible” attitude, and a laundry list of other things all related to Steph, it couldn’t have been entirely his fault. In fact, Bill Russell went on record this week, saying that the Knicks are to blame.
After being asked if Steph could have been “psychologically damaged” by the way he was treated, Russell responded, “He may have been. No matter how strong you are, that kind of stuff that went on this season was so ridiculous. I think what the Knicks did to him, having the whole thing play out in the papers [was wrong].”
Sometimes it takes a legend who has been through everything that a human can take to change the way that people look at a situation. While the Knicks made headway winning their fan base back after some disastrous seasons, Steph’s presence on the bench might not have negatively impacted the team (or their marketing strategy) if Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh brought out the best in him – as the Celtics organization has.
Source: New York Post
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May 8th, 2009 at 8:55 am
dmitry of jersey says:
that’s b.s. steph is making $18.999 million LESS playing a few minutes of the bench for boston. in new york he had the highest salary and would never have conceded to being a spot backup.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Jerry says:
Yeah great, just keep making excuses for “Star”bury.
He’s on his best behavior in Boston because he knows this could be his last chance.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:18 am
... says:
I’m not saying that Steph wasn’t to blame AT ALL, but everything rises and falls on leadership. I don’t care who you are or what team your playing for, a talent like marbury going to waste is just bad stewardship. As a coach and a leader, you have to be able to get the most out of what you have.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:29 am
doc says:
hell yeah they get some blame for it.Not all though.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:40 am
justice says:
Steph made some horrible, horrible mistakes but i never felt as though he would ever be the kind of guy a la rasheed or ron ron to not give 100 percent on the court and a lot of the fans still wanted him back , he was the effen scapegoat for years of bad baf management, ewing wearing a sonics jersey,allan houston,charles smith contracts howard eisley sex scandals larry brown it goes on and on’
May 8th, 2009 at 9:46 am
ERIC says:
Let me first say I was a huge Steph fan for a while. But was it the Knicks fault Steph banged an intern or berated women in the Knicks organization?
As a bit role player making the veterans minimum with KG/PP/Ray to keep him in place, yes he’s a good guy to have.
But if you’re relying on him to be a leader, “Star”, he doesnt have it in him and he’ll f**k up a team.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:54 am
LaMont says:
Wouldn’t the league be the one to blame for the Marbury drama? Why just the Knicks, why not the T-Wolves, Nets and Suns? I think Bill is taking a cheap shot at the Knicks. NY gave him the run of the kingdom and he squandered it. I think the C’s are gonna end up like that story where a snake is helped and then turns on the one who helped him and when asked why he replies, “well you knew i was a snake”.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:02 am
MB says:
The Celtics brought the best out of him? How so. He’s made zero impact thus far. He’s averaging 3.5 points and 2 assists off the bench. I mean, that’s great league minimum production but let’s not make it seemd like he’s rejuvinated the team. He’s a role player on a championship team. In other words, he stinks.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Scott says:
Steph did get into amazing condition physically in the offseason, I remember tons of people reporting that he’s in the best shape that he’s been in in years during preseason. And he played a few preseason games under D’Antoni, so everyone thought that maybe he’d actually get a chance with the new management/coach.
Then the regular season comes and he’s in street clothes because D’Antoni and management ‘feel’ thats a better situation.
Now I don’t know about any of you, but if I busted my ass all summer, played during preseason or at least enough games to think that maybe they’ll give me a shot to play, then was told that I’ll be inactive for an undetermined period of time ie. the rest of the damn season. Would you be cool? Or would that fuck you up? (even just a little?) And consider what Steph’s head was like before that. He may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but the Knicks only helped to mess him up even more.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:18 am
LaMont says:
@ Scott,
Every player in the league is supposed to bust their ass all summer to get in the best shape possible. Some play well enough to get minutes but don’t for whatever reason. The professional stay focused and ready for when they are called upon and don’t let that fuck them up. Clearly, Steph has proven he is not ready to be a leader.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:28 am
doc says:
@Eric-What do u do in your spare time?Im skeptical about some of you dudes on here who bash dudes about getting pussy but everytime dime put a bitch on the board its 95 comments explaining different ways to fuck her.@MB-A role player on a chip team is not a bad place to be at all.If that stinks u must be Michael Beasly.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:37 am
dmitry of jersey says:
Scott:
Playing well in summer league does not guarantee anything, and never has. If that was the case, Marco Bellinelli would be the top PG in the league.
So steph worked out in the summer? Like someone said, when you are an NBA player making MILLIONS that is your obligation, not a favor you are doing to your team.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:38 am
fiyaman says:
what has the Celtics organization done for him? I forgot he was even on their team.. He deserves to be were he is..Dont u see as soon as they signed him they have been having bad lick ever since..
DUDE IS A CANCER PLAIN AND SIMPLE
May 8th, 2009 at 10:41 am
ERIC says:
@doc
not sure what article or what comments you are reading bc you arent getting my point.
the knicks are not 100% responsible for stephs situation…steph brought a lot of the bad publicity on himself. and i gave non-basketball examples which show is lack of maturity and common sense. if you dont agree, fine, dont agree, i dont care. but dont start bashing on people. show some class.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:42 am
King says:
Steph was the best pg on the knicks roster. they didn’t play him cause the coach didnt like him ….of course your gonna be pissed
May 8th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Kudabeen says:
What successful and competent organization allows one employee (not CEO or Manager) to dictate their culture? Marbury’s salary doesn’t justify the Knicks action. He didn’t sign himself to the team, coach hisself, or initiate the lame game the Knicks were pulling. Clearly he was preparing to re-focus this year after having a year to think about his actions, but instead the Knicks thought to embarass him and discard him. Hey we are going to make him upset to the point were he does something stupid and justifies us suspending him or canceling his contract…
Knicks organization is bogus. Spurs don’t operate that way…Teams that throw money at problems in the name of winning always have these issues…Marbury was the same ass before the Knicks brough him to the team combine that with losing and the signing of Jerome “Big Snacks” James Marbury really shows his ass. High dollar contracts never changed a persons true nature. Can’t buy it.
Surround Steph or any so called “problem player” with strong leadership and accountability they conform…
I don’t like how gun shy Marbury is, but that is probably a side effect of him not feeling that invincibility to just do what he wants…He looks scared to make mistakes.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:06 am
doc says:
@eric-It wasnt about u.Its about people bashing dudes for getting pussy.my point is its nobodies fault Steph banged an intern and I wouldnt fault anybody for that unless the intern was a man.only thing to u was what do u do in your spare time because I know u squeeze getting some ass into your schedule on occasion.The next part was for everybody that say it.An example is a couple weeks back somebody said Dwight acting like he got religion in his life was ridiculous because he had a kid.Like if u like God u cant put your dick in nothing.Please.So i was getting your point.Stop bitching man u sound like Wade after he get plucked cleanly.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
George W Kush Sr says:
The Knicks are about 85-95% responsible for the bullshit that happened with Marbury. Check out da facts, Larry Brown was a bullshit coach who only did harm. Thomas was perhaps the biggest knucklehead they ever hired. Mike D straight up lied and bs’d his first year. And this is Marbury’s fault?
The Media then turns to career losers like Q Rich for comments like “I dont consider him a teammate”, well real Knicks fans dont consider Q Rich to be relevant. I am a Knicks fan. If we could dump his salary for some chili fries it’d be done. Why does the media always want the opinion of niggas less valuable than chili fries? Its the Knicks fault.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Scott says:
@eric, dmitry:
Point taken. Though I still believe his time as part of the Knicks organization fucked up Marbury beyond belief. And that all parties are to blame.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Dukesman2000 says:
There is enough blame to go around here, but Steph did exactly what he had to do and that was look out for mumber 1 – himself. I hate it when idiotic pundits and sh!t for brains fans intimate that players should look out for the organization’s best interest, while the organization only looks out for its best interest. My question is who looks out for player’s interest? No one. Steph did what he had to do and that is get paid and move on. I wish him the best and if this doesn’t work out, there is always Europe.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
ERIC says:
@ doc
haha well said. perfect example with dwight being a devout religious dude and then he has a kid.. no worries.. lookin forward to the next debate.
@ scott
i used to be a HUGE steph fan back from twolves through starting with the knicks. there has been a pattern of his teams getting better after he left..maybe coincidence, maybe not. but those are the facts and prob why his leadership/maturity/selfishness has been in question.
the problem with marbury and the knicks started when marbury, a 3-time all-star 20ppg 8apg player, was asked to defer to players who havent done shit in the league. i can see that being a hit to anyones ego. his issues started off the court, then carried onto the court..had issues with larry brown, and had previous beef (in phoenix) with d’antoni..
i agree the knicks organization (scott layden, isiah, larry brown, dolans) really have done a terrible job with a team in one of the most desireable cities for a player to be. getting d’antoni was a step in the right direction.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Nuggets2WinitAll says:
BillRussell is right, He didn’t say the knicks were 100% to blame…but they are responsible for what happened by playing everything out in the paper with Marbury.
I’m not saying Marbury shares no responsiblity
THE KNICKS ARE LOSSER’S!!
Marbury was never a franchise player…a player to carry the team…
May 8th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
If Bill said then it’s true…now what?
May 8th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Billy Sunday says:
yall need to watch the that show on espn called e60 they had steph on it and explained his situation in new york