nydailynews:MINNEAPOLIS - Petty jealousy is what prompted Stephon Marbury to force his way out of Minnesota and dissolve his once-in-a-lifetime pairing with Kevin Garnett.
Now, Marbury wants a do-over but only on one condition: a reunion with Garnett must take place in New York.
"That'd be great," Marbury said yesterday. "Oh yeah, anything can happen, especially in New York."
Isiah Thomas is one of about a dozen GMs hoping the Timberwolves, mired in a second straight losing season, will consider trading Garnett this summer. A more likely scenario has the Knicks trading Marbury. Minnesota, where Marbury spent the first 2-1/2 seasons of his career, has been mentioned as a possible destination. "If I got traded here, then I can't do nothing about that," Marbury said. "C'mon, man. Why do you want me out of here so bad?"
Garnett said yesterday he isn't opposed to a reunion as long as Marbury is willing to join him in the Twin Cities. "I've always let him know I'm going to be 'Sota," Garnett added. "And he's always let me know he's going to be in New York. So I guess we've got a problem."
Garnett reiterated that it is his desire to remain in Minnesota but he also expressed frustration with the direction of the franchise. Two years after advancing to the Western Conference finals, the T-Wolves have nosedived. "I don't want to go through another season like this," Garnett said.
It's debatable if adding Marbury even would make the Wolves a playoff team. The Knicks are 19-50 while Marbury is going through a third straight losing season. Still, Marbury believes he and Garnett together again would be good for him and great for the league.
"I would say that playing back with Kevin, that would be something that would be talked about forever," said Marbury, which may be a bit of an overstatement. "I think for the NBA that would be great also because you'd get to have two guys reunited from when they were younger who were predicted to be like Stockton and Malone."
Marbury foolishly forced a trade to New Jersey in 1999 because he was upset that Garnett had a large contract and was the face of the organization. Together, they were being billed as the new version of John Stockton and Karl Malone. Larry Brown felt they were the perfect match and said "it's kind of sad" they lasted less than three seasons.
Garnett preferred to call it a "disappointment," and that "youth or ego" played a factor in the breakup. He feels the Wolves already would have won a championship had Marbury stayed. "You have to ask Steph about about his reasons for leaving," Garnett said.
Marbury added: "When you're young, you really don't know. That's why it's called experience."
Garnett has become one of the league's elite players, although he's only won two playoff series. Marbury eventually received a lucrative contract but his career appears to be in decline. Also, he's never gotten out of the first round of the playoffs.
"As far as basketball, I haven't had that much success as far as winning," Marbury said. "To me, success is winning a championship. Everything else is secondary.
