He says he simply wanted to go to China because he sees playing there as a smarter financial decision. "Why go someplace if it's not going to put you in a situation where you can continue to grow?" he says. "There's definitely going to be a lockout in the NBA after this season. The owners do not want to pay older players, and the players will cave, because they're only focused on now. The owners, they're looking at this long term, like a fifteen-year business investment."
Aside from the potentially imminent NBA salary chaos, he's attracted, like many basketball hustlers, to China's estimated 300 million basketball fans, hoping to infiltrate its $6 billion dollar athletic-shoe market with his sneaker/apparel line, Starbury. Launched five years ago in a joint venture with retail clothing chain Steve & Barry's, the Starbury brand was meant to offer affordable apparel for those who couldn't afford to pay $150 for a pair of Nikes. Since Steve & Barry's filed for bankruptcy two years ago, Starbury has been dormant. Marbury's goal is to find an investor to help distribute the line, then open standalone stores across the country. He says he'd reached a preliminary agreement with his previous employers in Shanxi to do just that, but the deal fell through, which helped lead to his departure.
His partner in all this is White, a 36-year-old Houston native who's lived in China on and off for over a decade and is a jack-of-all-trades helper for Marbury. Having played in the CBA himself, he understands life as an African-American expat in China. Marbury got in touch with White last summer and he has been the Worldwide Wes to Marbury's Lebron James since — White is at every game, practice, and event and seemingly knows everyone in the league from players and coaches to security guards.