Marbury Refuses to Play, and the Knicks Have Had Enough

By  TOM ZILLER and FANHOUSE.COM

Updated 12:36 PM EDT, Thu, Nov 27, 2008

Stephon Marbury has delivered all his drama off the court.

 

The Great Knickerbocker Rebirth of 2008 didn't come without a whole new set of immediate issues for Mike D'Antoni. The trades announced last Friday sent away New York's best guard and a young combo off the bench. In return: two forwards and a two-guard with heart issues that have scared the Knicks into forcing more tests before allowing him to play. Nate Robinson injured his groin earlier this week, leaving New York with a severe guard deficit.

For the second time in a week, D'Antoni asked Stephon Marbury to play big minutes out of necessity. So desperate is D'Antoni, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post, that the coach offered Starbury his old starting job.

Starbury declined.

So the Knicks went with two guards healthy -- Chris Duhon and Anthony Roberson. Quentin Richardson (a forward) started at the two, and Wilson Chandler received some time there as well. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! reports that D'Antoni is pushing for Marbury to be suspended and barred from being around the team. Woj also has a source who said this is the straw breaking the proverbial camel's back, and James Dolan may suck it up and waive Starbury without a discount.

That'd be the best solution for all involved. Of course, it was also the best solution back in October. Nothing good could come from letting the Starbury affair fester inside Madison Square Garden. It didn't take an oracle to figure that one out.

Copyright FanHouse

Comments (3)

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  • ted lawler Friday, Nov 28 at 10:37 AM FLAG COMMENT marbury is a candyass
  • Sven Thursday, Nov 27 at 1:52 PM FLAG COMMENT I'm a Lakers fan, but have been following the Marbury story. I was feeling sympathy for the guy...his team wouldn't let him play, even though he really wanted to play, etc. Plus, he was the guy that introduced the inexpensive basketball sneakers that even poor kids could afford. But all the sympathy and good will is gone now. By refusing to play when his team really needs him, Marbury appears selfish and manipulative. To ... MORE >
  • Ed Sommers Thursday, Nov 27 at 1:02 PM FLAG COMMENT I guess if it didn't take an oracle to predict the extent to which Starbury could behave unprofessionally, it also doesn't take an oracle to figure out that the highest bidder for this guy's services might be the last place team in the autoworkers basketball association.

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