I read the news today… oh boy

Celtics fans everywhere had this John Lennon line running through their heads after ESPN’s Marc Stein reported this morning that not only will Stephon Marbury get bought out by the New York Knicks, but that he will sign with the Celtics after clearing waivers. On this news most Celtics fans come in on one of two sides the matter:

"OH BOY!" - Excited to see a multitime All Star and self proclaimed "Best Point Guard in the NBA" join a talented, successful franchise with plenty of veteran leadership to go around

"Ohhhh Boy." (insert eye roll here) - Apoplectic at the idea that one of the most divisive and cancerous talents in the NBA is going to join what has been a successful team and blow the whole thing up.

From those of you who read my latest thoughts on the bench’s malaise, I put myself in the "OH BOY!" category. Usually I am an "if it ain’t broke…" kind of guy, leave well enough alone because what we got is well positioned for success, but the cracks are evident and while they may not be fatal, I see other contenders in position to make bigger moves than the Celtics are capable of. Cleveland, specifically, is playing great ball and has a number of excellent chips available on the trading block that could bring in players the calibur of Vince Carter or Shawn Marion. The Celtics do not have that luxury, so signing players off of contract buyouts is their best path to shore up areas of weakness and as I noted earlier this week a veteran scoring presence off the bench is chief among those needs.

In a different situation, having a point guard being one of your team’s top scorers is not a good idea, but having a back up point in that position is a much different situation. Marbury, and his teams, have been criticized because they don’t move the ball enough and Marbury looks too much for his own offense. In Boston, the Celtics would need that offense off the bench, and the only question would remain how he would mesh with the starters should an injury to Rondo arise. But my sense is that the crazy things Marbury does on and off the court (see tattoo, side of head) would be squelched by members of the Big Three.

Now I know many of you are reading this and starting to ask about the other major need the Celtics have (and the one to which I devoted most of my last post) which is the lack of a veteran back up big man. Marbury can do many things, but he cannot Stretch Armstrong himself into being 7-1.  What he can do, however, is lessen the team’s need for one of two players, Eddie House or Tony Allen. Both players have their detractors, most notably Tony "Dribbles Ball off Wounded Knee" Allen, but each have produced in stretches and bring important skills to the Celtics bench. However, Danny Ainge may have to make a call whether he can afford to live without one of these players if he hopes to make a trade for a player like Corey Maggette or Drew Gooden, two players who are a salary match in a deal that sends Scalabrine, Glen Davis, and Allen or House out of town. That sounds like a lot to send away from the top 11 players on the Celtics roster, but one could look at that deal as the above three players for Marbury, Gooden or Maggette, and either Bill Walker or J.R. Giddens, who are tearing up the D League as we write this. I’m sure Ainge is loathe to deal away core bench players from a very successful team, and the preferred course of action is to sign Marbury and a buyout candidate like Brad Miller without giving away anyone. Yet, I’m not sure that is all that realistic.

Then again, there is one big man available who would be more than willing to join the Celtics to win a ring, but he’d make the hew and cry over Marbury seem like a cake walk. Of course it’d put me in the "Ohhhhh boy" category too. That man’s name, Antoine Walker.

And now you know the REST of the story… Good DAY!