MVN: Most Valuable Network

A tip of the hat to TenaciousT at CelticsCentral, for even putting the evil thought in my head, but given that the Knicks are putting Stephon Marbury on waivers, should the Celtics listen?  Or should they let the Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavaliers jump on the opportunity.  The prevailing opinion from an initial poll at the Celtics17 board on taking Marbury over resigning Cassell is "Hell No!"

But stepping back and looking at this, I'm wondering if Danny Ainge isn't more than tinkering with the idea.  Contrary to conventional wisdom, Marbury should be mature enough at 31-years old to do what he's told if he sincerely cares about winning.  Moreover, since he was not getting along with Isiah Thomas, is that necessarily a bad thing from a Celtics viewpoint?

The whole situation in NY was like the Jailblazer situation - you blow it up and some folks land on their feet elsewhere after getting out of an environment that went toxic some time ago. Simply see how people settle down in other roles on other teams. From those Jailblazers, Rasheed Wallace has performed quite nicely in Detroit.  But the rest? . . . not so much.   Damon Stoudamire got hurt with the Grizz and then waived, Zach Randolph ended up on Jailblazers II in NY, Ruben Patterson played well off the bench for Nugs and Bucks and then unceremoniously waived from the Clippers, Qyntel Woods never really made it anywhere, Bonzi Wells not been a factor and has been injury prone in his tour of the NBA, and Sebastian Telfair seems to be turning the corner in Minnesota after getting a lot of initial support by Doc and Ainge here in Boston.

AINGE'S HISTORY WITH THE BAD BOYS

Ainge has taken in team-challenged and troubled individuals ranging from Ricky Davis to Sebastian Telfair, even having people like Qyntel Woods in for a look.  Heck, they even took Antoine Walker and his big head back. 

In some respects, you could say James Posey was discounted in the NBA regarding how his last year with the Heat went down with another knucklehead coach in Pat Riley.  The proof that Posey was reclaimed is the fact that he did great with the Celtics and hit pay dirt with the Hornets.

And now we have the ex-Jailblazer Darius Miles to evaluate during preseason and attempt to ubuntuize him into a team-first guy.  Yes - ubuntuize - you heard it hear first (wink, wink).

My prediction: I think the Celtics will take a long hard look at Marbury and likely offer him a chance at redemption with a very short leash.

MARBURY A NEW MAN WITH DOC RIVER AND KG?

The following video is an interview of Marbury during the Knicks presser for new coach Mike D'Antoni back in May, taken from postingandtoasting.com courtesy of Ball Don't Lie. He's not being given the benefit of the doubt with the following editorial:

"Deranged grin: check. Miami Vice outfit: check. Inexplicably sweat-drenched skin: check. "Running in the mountains" with his brother in L.A: check. We missed you, Steph."

Judge for yourself, but I am a firm believer that people can . . . and do change, albeit slowly at times.

You don't need to look any further than Paul Pierce, not that he was ever a bad person, but Doc Rivers worked with a player that has been called a ball hog and lazy on defense at times . . . sounds like Marbury to me.  And I think that Doc Rivers is a helluva better player's coach than Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown or Mike D'Antoni, and that appears to be what these "bad boy" stars need sometimes.  Doc Rivers, former Coach of the Year, go figure . . .

There's also the bond that KG and Marbury had at one time - and I just don't see anyone crossing KG at this point in his career, or crossing this Celtics team with the determined starters they have in Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, KG and Kendrick Perkins. That is one driven no-nonsense bunch of serious basketball players when they take the court together. Just ask the other NBA teams that lost a total of 66 times to them last year.

REDEMPTION SONG

The current Celtics team is indeed an environment that is conducive to redemption and would be accepting of a remorseful Marbury, who can stand in line with Darius Miles to prove that they indeed have their heads on straight. If not, they surely won't be walking through the Celtics practice doors for long.

In honor of the former and future lost souls who board the Celtics ship of emancipation for championship-challenged players: