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The stories from New York abound, all saying that Knick guard Stephon Marbury is about to be waived. Nipping at their heels is a second wave of articles from other cities, pointing out that maybe, if you squint a little, this big-name player might be ready to help the local team. 

Here's my advice: Don't squint. And for crying out loud, let Stephon Marbury ride off into the sunset.

Here's an article wondering if he might be able to help the Lakers. Here's another one about the Heat. I'm sure the next few days will bring many more such articles from more cities.

The gist of both of these articles is: He's got some minuses, sure. But how about those plusses! If this breaks right, and if that breaks right ... and if you squint ...

We know it is not working. The wheels came off this wagon a long time ago.

In the final analysis, the Knicks would have been better if he had never played for the franchise, and they got him in his prime. (Some statistics from last year.) They believe that so strongly now that they will reportedly pay him more than it costs to buy a private island just to go away.

I know, it's confusing. Isn't he an All-Star?

Nobody in this world knows precisely what combination of qualities you need from your players to make your team succeed. There are too many variables. A good attitude in the locker room? Showing up early to practice? Not minding coming off the bench? Rebounding? Containing on the perimeter? Shooting? Scoring at the rim?

Stephon Marbury, as we all know, does some of those things like an All-Star. I can still remember, in fact, him hitting the big shots in the 2001 All-Star Game in Washington D.C.

But some of the other things he brings -- even from my desk chair I know defense is part of it, as is attitude -- are, plainly, not NBA quality.

So, while it is a big mystery how different qualities from different players fit together to make a winner, it is no mystery at all what happens when you trust Marbury to win your team games.

The questions for the other 29 teams are: If you put together all of the many different qualities of Stephon Marbury, do you get a package that can help your team win basketball games? Can he bring your franchise success? Can he make your offense and your defense more efficient than some other player you might give those minutes to?

Assuming Marbury is waived, the answer comes most resoundingly from the Knicks, who could use a good point guard, but are paying good money just not to even have him hanging around.

It's not like this is some raw recruit whose performance is impossible to project. This is a player who has used his skill, his reputation, and his highlight reel to get general managers starry-eyed, again and again, for more than a decade. 

He has had opportunities galore. He was Kevin Garnett's sidekick -- and it didn't work out. He was supposed to be the point guard who lifted the Nets of Kenyon Martin to fulfill their potential ... instead they did that the moment he left town was replaced by Jason Kidd. And the Knicks spent like drunken sailors to surround him with the best (or at least, most expensive) coaches and talent money can buy, and it became a cautionary tale for the ages.

He has been on the prowl, with some big-name teammates along the way, for a dozen years.

And what does he have to show for it?

Five fewer playoff game appearances than Leon Powe.

He hasn't won anything of note since high school.

What's more, some portion of Marbury's promise through the years has been his physique. I remember Larry Brown, when he was coaching Allen Iverson, pointing out that as teenagers the two players had looked the same, physically. The implication, of course, was that with work the scrawny Iverson could have a perfect Marbury body, too.

But now Marbury is 31, with an injury history. Physical gifts are mainly gifts to the young. 31 is about the age that guards need to find things besides muscle and speed to make themselves useful. 

So, you have a player who has been the eye of losing storms, year after year, with a smaller bag of tools at his disposal than ever. You have a player who nobody much seems to enjoy having around (his own cousin has self-published a book about the selfishness of Stephon). You have an NBA game that is getting faster and faster. And you have someone who has never been part of a playoff run, despite being on plenty of good rosters.

So what if he's a big name? So what if he's so cheap as to be practically free? What's not free are roster spots and minutes, and I'm just sure that there is someone out there who could make better use of those than Stephon Marbury.

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)