He had to know it would.

Despite growing up in nearby Reading, he's a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. The only one, he said, in his family.

"I was trying not to mention that at all because I go through a lot of stuff [living in Cleveland] for the same reasons," Marshall said, laughing, a day after signing with the Sixers as an unrestricted free agent. "When I grew up is when the Steelers won the four Super Bowls and I liked Lynn Swann, Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris.

"The funny thing is, I tried so hard to root for the Eagles, [but] it seemed like every time they had a good team something happened and they couldn't pull it through and break your heart . . . I'm a Philly fan for every sport except for football. I always try to say that with the Steelers [being in the AFC], I can still root for the Eagles."

He did, in fact, grow up as a Sixers fan, even as he starred for Reading High and the University of Connecticut. When his recent contract settlement was completed with the Oklahoma City Thunder (which was officially named yesterday), he told agent Andy Miller he wanted "to go home."

He admitted that, early in his career, he might have struggled with playing so close to friends and family, but that now "being a seasoned veteran" he was better prepared. And he is seasoned, at the age of 35 getting ready for his 15th season with his eighth team.

He is, in effect, an insurance policy for the Sixers' frontcourt, where they have added free agent Elton Brand, veteran Theo Ratliff and first-round draft choice Marreese Speights, but have lost Jason Smith to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He also brings the dimension of three-point shooting, a weak area in last season's 40-42 team; he tied an NBA record held by Kobe Bryant when, playing for Toronto, he drained 12 triples against the Sixers on March 13, 2005.

He holds career averages of 11.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. He averaged a career-best 15.4 points for Golden State in 1997-98 and put up a double-double of 14.2 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors in 1999-2000.

"I think I'm going to be a very big help to the younger guys," he said. "I know there's going to be a lot of times when I won't even touch the floor."

He didn't get on the floor much last season, appearing in 11 games for Cleveland and 15 for Seattle.

"I'm excited to come to a team that made plenty of moves to move in the right direction and has a good chance of winning," he said. *