Isiah Thomas said it's too soon to entertain the notion of trading Marbury, who has four years worth $76.8 million left on his contract. He also noted Brown's success in working with a variety of point guards from Allen Iverson to Eric Snow to Chauncey Billups in his past two stops at Philadelphia and Detroit.

And Marbury isn't the only one who could be traded.

"Guys who can't find a way to play the way that Larry wants to play, we'll try to find a way to move them," Thomas said. "However, I can say that everyone is wholeheartedly trying to find a way to do the things that he wants done."

Thomas compared Marbury's current struggle to the one Thomas faced playing for coach Bob Knight at Indiana. He survived that, and he predicted Marbury will survive in New York beyond the February trade deadline.