NBA: McDyess, Marbury, Gasol

By: Bill Ingram 

One of the biggest unresolved issues in the NBA today has now been officially resolved. The question I get asked more than any other, whether it's on radio shows across the country, during chats here at HOOPSWORLD, or via email, people are dying to know what's going to happen with Stephon Marbury.

It's almost as big a question as who will be the next President of the United States!

Well, "my friends," the answer has been found.

"It is resolved," D'Antoni told reporters after practice on Tuesday. "It is. Pretty soon that story is not going to be fun to read because it is going to be the same old story. You are going to be beating a dead horse."

"It is a lot of money," D'Antoni said of the $21.9 million still owed Marbury. "He has a contract, rightly so. If somebody gets hurt, we might need him. Why not? Steph has been great. He is part of the team. We are trying to do what is best for the Knicks."

So there you have it . . .biggest mystery solved . . .now let's go watch election coverage.

OK, a little more news first.

McDyess To Be Bought Out

The early word out of Denver was that Antonio McDyess, the throw-in on the Chauncey Billups/Allen Iverson trade, would be bought out. Then Nuggets VP Rex Chapman said most emphatically that the team had every intention of keeping Dice.

Well, apparently that's not going to work out.

The word is that the Nuggets and Andy Miller, McDyess' agent, aren't finding common ground. It seems McDyess may prefer to find greener pastures . . .pastures where a championship may be looming. Once source has him landing back in Detroit, which makes a lot of sense, while another has him heading to San Antonio, which makes almost no sense.

So I guess now all of the people who were talking about Marbury all the time can start talking about McDyess . . .at least until he lands somewhere.

A Good Trade After All?

Last season the NBA world went up in arms when the Memphis Grizzlies traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers for what many considered to be nothing. Memphis got Kwame Brown's ending deal, point guard Javaris Crittenton, and foreign project Marc Gasol.

Something for nothing, right? Mark Cuban was one of the loudest voices opposing the deal, saying the Grizzlies were almost handing the Lakers a championship. Frankly, he seemed to be right.

Meanwhile, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace held is line that he was only doing what was best for his franchise, and couldn't be worried about the impact a trade might have on other teams.

If you happened to catch last night's game between the Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors, you might find yourself thinking that trade wasn't so bad after all.

Marc Gasol showed promise in his first three games, but what he showed the Warriors was a glimpse of what could be a very bright future for Memphis. Faced with a smaller team, Gasol dominated. He scored 27 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and even blocked three shots.

Not a bad stat line, eh?

Maybe we had better reserve judgment on that trade between the Lakers and the Grizzlies . . .