A Kid From Coney Island

[Lipoli390]

I just watched a documentary on Stephon Marbury. It's called "A Kid from Coney Island" and it's available on Netflix. I highly recommend it.

Watching it was a reminder of what might have been here in Minnesota. He and KG were friends who always wanted go play together. A draft night deal put them together, which created euphoria among Wolves fans and elated both Marbury and KG. They were the perfect star tandem. Both were fierce competitors as well as immensely talented players. And they brought complementary skills to the the table - KG the rebounder, shot-blocker, defender and efficient scorer; Steph the guy who, while a terrific passer and true PG, could also dominate the ball, break down defenses and hit the big shot.

But then the news came down in Steph's third season, that he wanted out. It wasn't long before the Wolves accommodated him by trading him to the Nets. The Wolves were leading the Western Conference at the time. Yes, Steph was apparently bored in MN and didn't like the weather. But he would have stayed with the Wolves if not for the freak historic occurrence in which KG got the biggest contract in sports history just before a League rule that established the max contract that we're all familiar with today. Marbury just couldn't get past the idea that he'd be making less than KG even though he was at least as important to the team and actually had more responsibility as the team's PG.

The rest is history. KG led the Wolves to the playoffs multiple times, but the team advanced only one time in that season with Spree and Sam. The Wolves had a chance to potentially duplicate what they would have had in KG and Steph when they brought in Chauncey Billups. But in typical Wolves fashion they gave up on Billups too soon in favor of a brittle older veteran named Terrell Brandon. Again, even in the face of bad luck (e.g., Marbury leaving), good sports franchises make their own luck by being smart and patient. The Wolves were neither smart nor patient in giving up on Chauncey in favor of Brandon.

But I'll always remember that game against the Bulls when the Wolves beat MJ's team for the first time in Target Center. The arena was packed, loud and electric. As the confetti fell immediately after the game, Marbury went to center court, knelt down and kissed the Wolves logo. That's my lasting memory of Stephon Marbury and what might have been.

[AbeVigodaLive]

People look back at the Allen / Marbury trade as a bad one. It wasn't... https://minnesotasports.enjin.com/forum/page/2/m/15059925/viewthread/33030252-wolves-are-cursed-chroniclesI've discussed it in detail.

At the time, pairing Marbury and Garnett was a solid move.

Turns out Marbury was selfish and immature and dumb... and his family had too much influence.



[Note: I need something to watch later though. I'll check it out. Thanks.]

[thedoper]

Yeah this documentary was good. Unfortunately it made me lament yet another missed opportunity in the history of the Timberwolves. Marbury was amazing and likely the perfect complement basketball wise to KG deferring nature on the offensive side of the ball. Bringing up Billups is almost as sad too. I didn't know he was part of that crew coming up too and was likely really close to KG and Steph. So sad.

[Porckchop]

I just watched a documentary on Stephon Marbury. It's called "A Kid from Coney Island" and it's available on Netflix. I highly recommend it.

Watching it was a reminder of what might have been here in Minnesota. He and KG were friends who always wanted go play together. A draft night deal put them together, which created euphoria among Wolves fans and elated both Marbury and KG. They were the perfect star tandem. Both were fierce competitors as well as immensely talented players. And they brought complementary skills to the the table - KG the rebounder, shot-blocker, defender and efficient scorer; Steph the guy who, while a terrific passer and true PG, could also dominate the ball, break down defenses and hit the big shot.

But then the news came down in Steph's third season, that he wanted out. It wasn't long before the Wolves accommodated him by trading him to the Nets. The Wolves were leading the Western Conference at the time. Yes, Steph was apparently bored in MN and didn't like the weather. But he would have stayed with the Wolves if not for the freak historic occurrence in which KG got the biggest contract in sports history just before a League rule that established the max contract that we're all familiar with today. Marbury just couldn't get past the idea that he'd be making less than KG even though he was at least as important to the team and actually had more responsibility as the team's PG.

The rest is history. KG led the Wolves to the playoffs multiple times, but the team advanced only one time in that season with Spree and Sam. The Wolves had a chance to potentially duplicate what they would have had in KG and Steph when they brought in Chauncey Billups. But in typical Wolves fashion they gave up on Billups too soon in favor of a brittle older veteran named Terrell Brandon. Again, even in the face of bad luck (e.g., Marbury leaving), good sports franchises make their own luck by being smart and patient. The Wolves were neither smart nor patient in giving up on Chauncey in favor of Brandon.

But I'll always remember that game against the Bulls when the Wolves beat MJ's team for the first time in Target Center. The arena was packed, loud and electric. As the confetti fell immediately after the game, Marbury went to center court, knelt down and kissed the Wolves logo. That's my lasting memory of Stephon Marbury and what might have been.

Going forward I think it's easy to evaluate that KG was always going to be more valuable than Marbury. Marbury was traded and was never the same player he was with the Wolves. Kg was left behind with scraps and still willed his teams to playoff births.
I might be reading you wrong here but it seems your implying Marbury was more deserving of the bigger contract. I don't see how that can be possibly true anywhere any how. Kg took on far more responsibility , as an elite passer at his position , elite rebounder, defended multiple positions, selfish team player and he brought the energy every night which teammates feed off of. Marbury was a great scorer and made electric plays for others at times but he was not elite at anything other than getting his first . And that didn't translate well on other teams either.

[Monster]

I just watched a documentary on Stephon Marbury. It's called "A Kid from Coney Island" and it's available on Netflix. I highly recommend it.

Watching it was a reminder of what might have been here in Minnesota. He and KG were friends who always wanted go play together. A draft night deal put them together, which created euphoria among Wolves fans and elated both Marbury and KG. They were the perfect star tandem. Both were fierce competitors as well as immensely talented players. And they brought complementary skills to the the table - KG the rebounder, shot-blocker, defender and efficient scorer; Steph the guy who, while a terrific passer and true PG, could also dominate the ball, break down defenses and hit the big shot.

But then the news came down in Steph's third season, that he wanted out. It wasn't long before the Wolves accommodated him by trading him to the Nets. The Wolves were leading the Western Conference at the time. Yes, Steph was apparently bored in MN and didn't like the weather. But he would have stayed with the Wolves if not for the freak historic occurrence in which KG got the biggest contract in sports history just before a League rule that established the max contract that we're all familiar with today. Marbury just couldn't get past the idea that he'd be making less than KG even though he was at least as important to the team and actually had more responsibility as the team's PG.

The rest is history. KG led the Wolves to the playoffs multiple times, but the team advanced only one time in that season with Spree and Sam. The Wolves had a chance to potentially duplicate what they would have had in KG and Steph when they brought in Chauncey Billups. But in typical Wolves fashion they gave up on Billups too soon in favor of a brittle older veteran named Terrell Brandon. Again, even in the face of bad luck (e.g., Marbury leaving), good sports franchises make their own luck by being smart and patient. The Wolves were neither smart nor patient in giving up on Chauncey in favor of Brandon.

But I'll always remember that game against the Bulls when the Wolves beat MJ's team for the first time in Target Center. The arena was packed, loud and electric. As the confetti fell immediately after the game, Marbury went to center court, knelt down and kissed the Wolves logo. That's my lasting memory of Stephon Marbury and what might have been.

Going forward I think it's easy to evaluate that KG was always going to be more valuable than Marbury. Marbury was traded and was never the same player he was with the Wolves. Kg was left behind with scraps and still willed his teams to playoff births.
I might be reading you wrong here but it seems your implying Marbury was more deserving of the bigger contract. I don't see how that can be possibly true anywhere any how. Kg took on far more responsibility , as an elite passer at his position , elite rebounder, defended multiple positions, selfish team player and he brought the energy every night which teammates feed off of. Marbury was a great scorer and made electric plays for others at times but he was not elite at anything other than getting his first . And that didn't translate well on other teams either.

My stance has always been that Marbury had the talent and his abilities ended up being a pretty good fit with KG. I believe Marbury himself Said he made a mistake leaving although he is happy with how his life turned out. KG did lead his team to the playoffs and he deserves credit there but what was Marbury's supporting cast, coaches and organizations on the teams he was a part of? Did he stuff the stat sheet in a bad way? Probably but his career averages are nearly 20 and 7.5. He didn't stick around in the league to plat twighlight years Or whatever to bring those numbers down but still that's pretty good.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Maybe our two biggest setbacks in history involve guys named Steph?

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's not just about talent.

Marbury was a flake and hints/rumors of selfishness followed him at every NBA stop. Meanwhile, Garnett remains lauded as one of the leagues' most unselfish players and an incredible teammate by most.

Sadly, they would have been awesome together with such different skill and mindsets...

[bleedspeed]

The doco was good. Marbury was young and made some bad choices. He really needed a mentor or allow himself to be mentored. Part of me wonders if he suffered from depression. I am not sure how he could have been so miserable in Minnesota. He and KG were the talk of the league. I am not sure why his family didn't move with him.

[mrhockey89]

I enjoyed the documentary as well (thanks for the tip, Lip).

I'm only posting a reply because I told one of my buddies (big Wolves fan) to check it out and he had a much different experience than most of us I think and I found it interesting. His take was that the documentary just cemented how selfish Marbury was from start to finish and even after his career ended when he was speaking to the kid in the barber shop and saying basically "I was pretty good huh?" and suggested the reason he was so okay with being in China was because he was held as a God there (as opposed to it looking like a growing up by Marbury to me).

Anyway, just thought that was an interesting difference of opinion on the same documentary by Wolves fans.

[WildWolf2813]

I don't think this franchise, namely Glen, has ever recovered from Marbury leaving. The whole Jimmy Butler saga in a way reinforces why Glen overvalues character and a player's want to be here, but it's highlighted with Marbury. He wasn't the first (that was Rick Mahorn) and he won't be the last, but it's the one that has scarred the team the most.