LINKED BY THE PAST - AND UNCERTAIN FUTURES: GARNETT, MARBURY STAR-CROSSED.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE NBA 

On the same day New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury went DefCon 4 on Larry Brown, an aggravated Kevin Garnett sat slumped in a chair at Staples Center looking very much like a tortured soul.

``Very frustrating, man,'' is how Garnett described the sixth straight loss by his Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday against the Lakers.

It's getting harder and harder for Garnett to hide his dissatisfaction with the only franchise he's ever known. For the second straight season the Timberwolves will not reach the postseason, and every pointed remark Garnett makes about Minnesota's front office or teammates is another step closer to the end of his 11-year run in the Twin Cities.

Meanwhile, the inevitable happened this week in New York when Marbury and Brown pretty much admitted they can't stand one another in a classic Big Apple war of words. Marbury ripped Brown's heavy-handed coaching style and antiquated offense, and Brown lashed back by saying Marbury was selfish and didn't play defense.

If it wasn't for the $60 million left on Marbury's contract, he would have been out of Brown's hair long ago. As it is, they might be stuck with each other.

To think, things could have been so different for Garnett and Marbury.

Less than a decade ago, they weren't just Minnesota teammates and best friends, they were a pair of up-and-coming NBA stars seemingly destined to win many championships together.

Garnett was the dazzling 7-foot power forward and Marbury his ankle-breaking sidekick at point guard. This was the Generation X version of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

It never happened, of course. Marbury, blinded by financial lust, couldn't stomach the fact he'd never make as much money as Garnett due to the drastic changes in player contracts after the 1998 lockout. Best friend or not, Marbury wasn't about to share the court with a higher-paid teammate, so he selfishly forced a trade out of town.

As a result, a team fated for NBA titles and epic battles with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's Lakers was broken apart before construction was completed.

In fact, the only thing the Timberwolves have to show for the Garnett years is a trip to the Western Conference finals in 2004. Other than that, there were a handful of first-round playoff losses and a whole bunch of what ifs.

And, in Garnett and Marbury's case, what now?

They have seemingly arrived at similar crossroads together, and both face uncertain futures as they play through the final weeks of the regular season.

It was impossible not to think about that as Garnett seethed after Minnesota dropped a close game to the Lakers on Wednesday and Marbury went ballistic on Brown 3,000 miles away in New York.

In Marbury's case, it's no big surprise. Always an electrifying player, he's never quite figured out how to properly blend his extraordinary talents in a team setting. That inability - some would suggest unwillingness - forced him out of Minnesota, Phoenix and New Jersey. The minute the notoriously old-school Brown arrived in New York, it was obvious Marbury's days in the Big Apple were numbered, too.

To Marbury's credit, he actually tried to do it Brown's way through the first part of the season, but when the losses kept piling up he finally did what everybody expected him to do two months ago: Go off.

In a gripping display of swagger, the Coney Island legend pretty much told Brown where he could stick his slow-it-down offense, vowing to run the Knicks the way he saw fit.

``So what do I do now, as far as the way I play?'' Marbury told the Newark Star-Ledger. ``I go back to playing like Stephon Marbury, aka 'Starbury.' I haven't been 'Starbury' this year. I've been some other dude this year ... When you watch the games, that's not Stephon Marbury.''

Translation: He's going to dominate the ball, break guys off the dribble and fire off shots from anywhere and everywhere.

Needless to say, Brown wasn't happy, especially after Marbury questioned his Hall of Fame coaching credentials. What unfolded was your basic New York turf war, sending all five boroughs into a tizzy and forcing New Yorkers to choose sides between their two hardheaded native sons.

``I've been coaching how many years?'' Brown said. ``A long time. I never left a team in worse shape than I got it. Not once. Think about that. Think about me and think about the guy who's talking.''

Back and forth it went, with player and coach trading insults through the New York media. It finally culminated in a face-to-face meeting Thursday in which Brown emphatically told Marbury he wasn't about to relinquish control of the Knicks and that he better learn to deal with it.

``He basically told me he could do whatever he wants with this franchise and that he doesn't want to trade me and that everything that went on throughout the last week is over with,'' Marbury said. ``So, I said, 'OK,' and I left.''

Brown insists he's open to a Marbury return next season, although it's probably a moot point, considering the three years and $60 million left on Marbury's contract.

In other words, it looks like Brown and Marbury are stuck with each other.

Garnett's situation isn't as desperate as Marbury's, but it's every bit as frustrating.

Two years after playing in the Western Conference finals, the Wolves are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the second straight year. Garnett, upset that management hasn't taken the proper steps to rebuild around him, has begun lashing out at the front office and teammates.

A week ago, he ripped teammates he felt weren't serious enough about winning after he caught them laughing in the locker room after a tough loss, and on Wednesday he challenged some of them to stay home if they didn't think they could compete.

``If you don't want to play, don't come to the gym. If you don't believe you can win, stay your (butt) at the hotel,'' Garnett said.

Garnett's always been a loyal soldier - he took the high road when his former best friend Marbury got personal on his way out of Minnesota - but no one would be surprised if he forced a change of scenery this summer.

He turns 30 in May and he realizes he probably doesn't have enough time to sit around waiting while the Wolves get their act together. For what it's worth, he's got an offseason home in Los Angeles and some reports suggest it will become permanent when the Lakers make an offseason run at him.

It wasn't supposed to be this way, of course. By now, the Wolves should have won a championship or two. But as Garnett watched the playoffs float further out of view last week, it was obvious his career was at an intersection.

``You get tired of hearing the same stuff over and over, you know?'' he said. ``We're making strides, we're making strides. At some point you want it to pay off.''

Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, it looks like Garnett's payoff might happen somewhere else.

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

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Box:

(1) FIVE QUESTIONS WITH ... BYRON SCOTT

- Vincent Bonsignore

(2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Ross Siler

(3) OFF THE GLASS