Sportsfrog.com

A few notes and columns worth perusal as Boston enters the Stephon Marbury era:

—-On Marbury, he of the cheap shoes had this to say:

“I’m blessed to be able to move on with my career,” said Marbury via e-mail. “I’m excited about the new beginning.”

Somewhere, Kevin Garnett must be thinking: “If he f*cks this up, I’ll kill him.”

—-Si.com with their monthly rookie rankings here. They, for the first time, have moved OJ Mayo to the front of their list. Surprising to me, not because Mayo isn’t deserving of consideration, but because I figure no one outside of four fans in Memphis has noticed anything about the Grizzlies this year.

—-Seth Davis has a good read on what some NBA scouts are saying about the pro prospects of the top collegians this year. Check that, make it a great read. A sampling of a long and rather frank assessment of potential pros:

Ty Lawson, 5-11 junior guard, North Carolina: “He can definitely play in the league, but his size is a question. There are very few midget point guards that can really get it done in the NBA. I don’t think he can shoot it as well as Jameer Nelson. If he gets on a team that plays up-tempo he’ll look really good, but none of Roy Williams’ point guards learn how to play at different paces because he has them playing so fast, they never learn how to negotiate the game. I’d say Lawson is between Raymond Felton and Jacque Vaughn. I’ve never been crazy about his leadership skills.”

Earl Clark, 6-9 junior forward, Louisville: “He’s been disappointing. He has all the skills and a great body, but at the end of the day he’s soft. He has small hands, which will prohibit him from being good around the basket at the next level. He’s the same size as Jeff Green, but Jeff Green had great hands and wasn’t soft. He can’t really get his shot off unless he’s wide open. Someone will take him high because they think he’ll be an all-star in three of four years, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Enjoy that.

—-And, just because, a power rankings from cbssports.com. The jostling at the bottom of the league for the best odds at Blake Griffin is going to be amusing as the next six weeks unfold.