So, Marbury Might Make the Team After All

Why does everything involving Stephon Marbury have to be so complicated? First, it looked like he was on the way out. Then, Marbury was showing up in camp anyway, which didn't seem like the best idea. It seemed like Coney Island's Finest would be out of a job, and have to hope somone desperate like Miami would take a gamble. Because, like I said, he wasn't going to get to live out his Italian fantasy.

What a difference a news cycle makes. Now, according to general manager Donnie Walsh, Marbury's got a shot at making the team:

The New York Post reported that Knicks president Donnie Walsh is giving Marbury a legitimate shot to make the team; the newspaper's sources say owner James Dolan might not want to pay Marbury's $21.9 million buyout until he sees him in action first.

In a world where things make sense -- that is, somewhere other than the halls of Madison Square Garden -- there might be some logic here. After all, in this typically loopy video interview, Steph goes to great lengths to explain what great shape he's in. And let's not forget, Marbury can still play. He's not broken down anywhere but in the head. Why give up a lot of money for nothing when you can pay the same thing and get something (relatively speaking) useful? Either way, he comes off the books next summer.

But this is the Knicks, and Marbury, and so things don't make sense. Marbury's side:

"If I'm a distraction and I'm all these different things, why would you want to keep somebody like that? It can't be about the money. If you feel you're better without me, just let me go. If not, let's get down to the business of playing basketball. We shouldn't be talking about me getting waived or not. We should be talking about bringing playoff life back to the Garden like when I got here (in 2004)."

I don't know Steph. I just don't know.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.