NBA Insider with Ken Berger

As if my head weren’t spinning enough after two weeks of helping care for the newborn in the Berger household – Z-Berg is the nickname Alan Hahn has given to little Zachary – now I am woozy like Michael Spinks was against Mike Tyson after going a few rounds with Stephon Marbury at Knicks media day.

I spent the entire allotted time sitting at a table with Marbury today at the Knicks’ training center, because unless Kobe Bryant or Ron Artest walked through the door, I felt like Steph was the most compelling story on the eve of training camp.

Part of me is glad I spent so much time with him, because it took the better part of 40 minutes to get Marbury to really open up about the source of his apparent transformation this summer. The Cliff’s Notes version is that he no longer cares what anyone thinks about him, and he has found G-d.

With word that a verdict was imminent in the sexual harassment lawsuit against the Garden and coach Isiah Thomas in Manhattan, Marbury was the only person available at media day who had anything to do with the trial. In fact, he played a starring role in one of the salacious sideshows generated by the proceedings when he was forced to testify about his 2005 tryst with a college-age intern in his truck outside a strip club.

All Marbury kept saying about the matter was a cryptic line – “It shall be well” – which Google tells me is a Biblical reference from Psalm 128: “When thou eatest the labour of thy hands, happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.”

At $20 million this season, Marbury should be able to eat just fine.

Steph’s trademark combative side showed itself, but for the most part he was engaging and willing to talk – on his terms. He called this the “best summer that I’ve ever had,” which seemed like an odd statement considering all the controversy he generated with his bizarre appearance on a local TV show, his stated desire to play in Italy when the final two years of his Knicks contract are up, his defense of Michael Vick, and finally, his testimony at Isiah’s trial.

“I don’t have any concerns at all,” Marbury said of the potential fallout from the messy public trial. “This is something that’s being dealt with and in time it’ll go away. It’s something that’s going on right now.

“You’re talking about a civil lawsuit. Somebody’s trying to make some money and we’re talking about basketball. When you start playing ball, hopefully that’s what people will concentrate on.”

You can read all about the real source of Marbury’s new perspective in tomorrow’s paper. As far as basketball, Marbury predicted that the Knicks would be a better team with the addition of Zach Randolph and the stability of playing for the same coach. He acknowledged that he needed more time to recover from a nagging toe injury than he might’ve needed when he was younger, but vowed defiantly that he is not wearing down.

“Going into training camp, everybody’s mindset is right where it needs to be,” Marbury said.

Alan Hahn was racing to the airport to catch his flight right after media day, so he urged me to tell his loyal Fixers that he’ll post something as soon as he arrives in Charleston. I’ll be joining him later in the week. In the meantime, I’m wondering what Knicks and league stuff is on your mind. As long as I can manage to keep my eyes open, Berger’s blog is open for business again.