Job Satisfaction

It took four months, but the other size 16 finally dropped.

And now the message boards are flooding with speculation, criticism, and outright insanity - sometimes all three at once. But that's the Internet, and we should be used to it by now. I'm just dropping in for this to talk a little bit about finances, namely Shawn Marion's, and the Bizarro World notion that money = respect.

To counter that notion, I will simply offer that, if money means respect, then Michael Jackson must have held those little boys with the highest of regard.

The simple fact is, money has never been mentioned by anyone involved. If I recall correctly, the three year $60 million deal he's supposedly looking for was mentioned by reporters speculating on what Shawn would want after making over $17 million in his final year.

To my knowledge, Shawn has never mentioned money, nor has he ever really been asked about money. And now he's on record as saying that it isn't about money. That means that it is a combination of two things, and two things only.

1. The constant trade talk. It's enough to make ANYONE feel unwanted and unappreciated, regardless of the financial situation. Which brings us to the real reason this happened.

2. The extension. Shawn has been saying all along that the front office hasn't been willing to discuss it. For all they know, he's perfectly willing to take a pay cut (maybe even enough that Kirilenko suddenly doesn't look like such a bargain by comparison). I certainly don't know, but I'd like to believe that Shawn has that understanding of his situation.

What I'd LOVE to hear through all this (but it's NEVEREVEREVEREVEREVER going to happen) is Marion's voice saying loudly enough for everyone interested to hear, "I'll even willing to discuss taking less money than my current contract."

But "it's a business".

I'm so sick of hearing that from athletes these days. It's the standard answer for any question of a player's commitment and loyalty to a team and its fans.

Well, if we're all so clear that it's a business, then why is it such an affront to anyone's sensibilities that the highest paid player with a rapidly approaching contract date on a team hemorrhaging money (the newest addition to my hyperbole collection) due to the luxury tax and a $77 million payroll is the first one mentioned in EVERY trade proposal that comes along?

(Inside voice says: Hey, Shawn...your salary this year alone represents 22% of the team's payroll. That's Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant territory. And you're the third fucking option. Yes, Shawn. It's a BUSINESS. Now act like a professional.)

Shawn insists, though, that no one really understands him - that people who don't even know him are making assumptions about him. Obviously, I am one of them. That's never stopped me from writing or speculating about him. I've been more than generous in my defense of Shawn and his apparent moodiness, mostly because I'm confident in my knack for "knowing" people, even if I don't know them.

"Knowing" Shawn Marion as I do, I can only throw up my hands at the latest news, straight from his own mouth.

I felt like they tried to force my hand to Boston with the (Kevin) Garnett stuff.

Yes? Is that a sign of betrayal, or a sign of good business sense? You're worried about an extension that the Suns, a SMALL market team, can't really afford to pay.

They found a taker who was willing to work out that extension. Not only is that good business, it shows that they do respect Shawn enough to find him a place willing to overpay for his services.

At the time, everyone was killing a deal to go to Boston. Did we forget the talk about how Boston is unkind to black players? How they're in a losing situation with no end in sight?

Did we forget this?

So what about it, Shawn? Would you rather be a 30-point scorer and an MVP candidate on a lesser team, say, one only flirting with the postseason, than the sidekick to the sidekick in Phoenix? "Wow, that's interesting," he says thoughtfully, as if he's never entertained the prospect before.

Marion pauses nearly 10 seconds to concentrate on the question. Only the muted sound of late-afternoon traffic outside the two-story living room breaks the silence. He fiddles with the remote as if it holds the answer. "I've never been asked that," he continues. "That would be an interesting situation to be in, to really show people what I can do.

"But we'd be in the playoffs, right?"

Gee. Didn't see THAT one coming back to bite him in the ass, did we? That article came out a month and a half before the NBA draft.

And there it is.

It's not about money. It's not about business, professionalism, or the sheer stupidity of not recognizing what an enviable basketball situation he is in. One thing that article taught us is that Shawn does not want to lose.

As long as "we'd be in the playoffs, right?"

Apparently, Shawn's enviable situation isn't so to him. He'd sacrifice winning for the right amount of losing, so long as he's the middle face on the team's official website somewhere.

Oh, and let's not forget that extension, so it would have to be permanent.

Yes, I understand Shawn Marion's state of mind on this (as far as I know), but it is such a skewed version of reality that no contract extension or amount of money or championship rings will fix it. (I don't question Shawn's sanity, just his perception of reality. Of course, that's usually the first sign.)

At any rate, Marion has stood firm in his quest for the ever-elusive quality of "respect". It has come to the point that only he knows the definition of that particular word anymore, because by most popular standards, Shawn Marion is one of the most respected players in the league - by fans, coaches, and even the media.

I think that everyone is wrong when they say that Marion will regret leaving the Suns. I think he understands exactly what's at stake. We have to understand one thing - some things in life are bigger than others, and only we can decide our own proportions.

Apparently, Shawn Marion places his job beneath himself (which is as it should be, in my opinion). He seems more concerned with righting himself than winning a title. And that's fine by me. It would be selfish to want Shawn to stay just so we could win a championship, when even that probably won't make him happy.

Like any family, we need to let Shawn go and find himself, or at least figure out what the hell he wants out of all this basketball stuff. A few more years, and he won't have it anymore. I don't think he really cares. He has other interests that are bigger than basketball, and it's time for the fans, the organization, and the media to accept that.

Marion treats basketball as the job that it is. The thing that sucks about it for him, I'd imagine, is that it's the only outlet available to him to express himself on a large scale.

So it's come down to this. I accept and understand that Shawn Marion may not be a part of our team this entire season. At the very least, barring a miraculous Dr. Phil moment, this is the last season we will see the orange and purple number 31 mad-dashing up and down the court at the Purple Palace.

End of an era, or just the beginning?