Marbury to Return to Beijing and Sign With The Fly Dragons?

According to an unverified rumor, former Beijing Ducks player Stephon Marbury will return to Beijing to close out his career – with the Ducks' crosstown rivals, the Beijing Beikong Fly Dragons.

Quoting an unidentified source, Chinese news media like Sina (sports.sina.com.cn) and iFeng (sports.ifeng.com) are reporting that Marbury and the Beikong Fly Dragons have all but formalized the deal and that only minor details need to be ironed out.

No official word from either party has commented on the rumors.

If true, Beikong's signing of Marbury may have huge dividends for both sides.

By signing with Beikong, Marbury can continue to live in Beijing without disruption, and can even live in the same residence for which his permanent residence is registered. And with Beijing still serving as his host city, Marbury's proclamations and tattoos regarding his love for the city won't have to change.

For the Beikong Fly Dragons, Marbury is a strong marque player that can bring a lot of experience to the young team. The Fly Dragons were founded eight years ago in Guangzhou before moving to Chongqing in 2012. In fact, the team is so new that some Beijing residents don't even know the city has a second basketball team two years after they arrived.

However, what looks like a win-win situation for Beikong and Marbury comes completely at the expense of the Beijing Ducks. By losing its most famous player to another team that shares its market, the Ducks are at risk of losing its fans to Beikong should this rumor be true.

One way to appreciate this sensational rumor is to suppose if Mickey Mantle decided to end off his career by leaving the storied franchise of the New York Yankees in favor of the new baseball team across town, the New York Mets.

After bringing the team to three championship seasons, Marbury parted ways with the Beijing Ducks when the two sides couldn't agree on how to end off the final year of his contract. In order to allow the 40-year-old Marbury to fulfill his dream of playing for "just one more year," the Ducks have graciously let Marbury out of his contract.

The rumor is the latest thing to go bad for the Ducks since the departure, which sparked an online backlash by outraged fans who called it a "betrayal." The Ducks are currently trying to turn their fortunes around by focusing on its future with younger talent after having missed the playoffs last year.

In his statement to fans after leaving the Ducks, Marbury wrote: "No matter where I am, I am a Beijinger. Beijing is my home forever." And so it will for the next year.

Images: Sports.Sina.com.cn

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