Stephon Marbury follows the New Jersey Nets a lot these days because he just can't help it.

"The way they've been playing, it's hard not to see what they've been doing," he said not long ago about his former team. "They're always on the highlights when I watch TV at night."

Tonight in Phoenix, Marbury and Suns fans get to welcome Jason Kidd back to the Valley of the Sun for the first time since last summer's blockbuster trade of star point guards. So far, it has been a steal for the Nets. Kidd is an MVP candidate for the first time in his career, the Nets are in first place in the East and Marbury and the Suns are in the midst of rebuilding en route to the draft lottery.

	The Suns will continue to add the right players to complement Stephon Marbury.

But let's remember, the bottom line on trades aren't determined by one season's results. In fact, this one could turn in the Suns' favor in the very near future.

Mainly because Kidd has an opt-out in his contract after next season. He could stay, but the Nets' cap situation makes it impossible for them to add a much-needed second star. That well could impact Kidd's thinking.

And who's to say that he'll want to put down roots in northern New Jersey, which is still Knicks country? As bad as the Knicks are now, they're still the area's dominant team. Meanwhile, the Suns could have Marbury, who recently turned 25, for years to come.

The Suns were inundated with offers for Marbury at the trading deadline last month. That came as a result of his Feb. 8 DUI arrest, and was reminiscent of the days after Kidd's celebrated arrest last season for striking his wife, Joumana. Back then, everyone wanted to steal Kidd, too.

But while teams such as the Knicks called to make a deal for Marbury, thinking Phoenix was already fed up with his off-court troubles, the Suns wisely held on to one of the most talented players in the game today. Then by adding Joe Johnson from Boston at the trading deadline, they brought in another young perimeter player with a huge upside to complement Marbury and Shawn Marion.

By trading Marbury, the Suns would be admitting to making an enormous mistake in the Kidd deal. They're a long way from doing that.

"Steph asked me if the rumors about him getting traded were true," said Suns president and general manager Bryan Colangelo. "And I told him, 'I'm not going to compound your mistake with my mistake.' That would be an even bigger mistake. We made a major, significant move when we traded for Stephon, and I'm not ready to call it a failure at this point. Major moves take time to work."

Colangelo is absolutely correct to look at the Marbury trade that way. Marbury can be a difficult teammate, as the Nets found out during his brief stay in Jersey. But the Suns owe it to themselves to try to bring in the right kind of players to surround Marbury.

Granted, Kidd is the better all-around player who makes teammates better. But Marbury is the kind of talent who can carry a team with his scoring.

"Of course the trade doesn't look good for Phoenix now," said a Western Conference executive. "Kidd's been the difference in New Jersey. He's turned that franchise around by himself. But if the Suns ever want to trade Marbury, I will be the first one to call Bryan. Guys with Marbury's talent don't come along all that often."

Even when Nets officials, coaches and players were crowing about their steal-of-a-deal when Marbury returned to the Meadowlands for the first time, earlier this season, Colangelo told a friend: "Let's give this trade a full season." If not two, because there's a good chance that the Nets are merely renting Kidd.

There's already the thought that Kidd will leave Jersey to join Tim Duncan in San Antonio. In two years, the Spurs will have the kind of major cap room it will take to sign Kidd. The new home Duncan is building in San Antonio, meanwhile, is expected to be completed in another month. If not San Antonio, Kidd would be a welcome addition in other warm weather cities, where he is said to favor playing out his career.

	“	We've gotten a lot younger. Now it's a matter of time before we learn to play with each other. It's probably better we did it now so guys can get to know each other and we can start off fast next season. ”
		— Stephon Marbury

The bottom line is, if Kidd decides to leave Jersey, the Nets will have nothing to show for Marbury. Then how did the trade work out?

Phoenix, meanwhile, can continue to rebuild around Marbury. Do they have to address problems before they can become legitimate playoff contenders? You bet. Penny Hardaway's $87 million deal doesn't come off the books until after the 2005-'06 season. Because of his history of injuries, the size of his contract and everyone's fear of the luxury tax, he's untradable. The Suns are also stuck with Tom Gugliotta, who came in for $60 million but hasn't been the same since suffering a major knee injury two years ago.

Their biggest problem? Same as it ever was, since Antonio McDyess bolted a few seasons back for Denver. Like a lot of teams, they still don't have a frontcourt stud at the "four" or "five" who can score with his back to the basket. Their lack of such a player has always been their downfall in the West, where you have to match up with Shaquille O'Neal and Duncan and other formidable big men on a nightly basis. And then in a seven-game playoff series.

"You have to continually retool in this business," Colangelo said. "Without joining the lottery teams, we've added two lottery picks in the last three years (in Marion and Johnson). And if we don't make the playoffs this year, we'll add a third lottery pick in four years. By moving forward with the trade, it enables us to move along with that building process in a quicker time frame."

Marbury certainly hasn't given up hope, not even as he has had to watch Kidd lead the Nets to their best season in years.

"We've gotten a lot younger," he said. "Now it's a matter of time before we learn to play with each other. It's probably better we did it now so guys can get to know each other and we can start off fast next season."

Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.