The New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury appear to be at an impasse. The team's new coach Mike D'Antoni doesn't want to play Marbury incremental minutes in garbage time, so he and his player agreed that placing him on the inactive list would be the best way to go. (You know, out of respect).
The question has come up though of waiving Marbury or possibly buying out his contract, to allow him to play elsewhere while at the same time removing a huge, $21 million dollar distraction from the end of the team's bench. The only issue with that is, teams usually buy out a player's contract to try to save themselves some cash, but Marbury is insisting on being paid the full amount he is owed. This is where the Players' Union may interject themselves into the situation.
"We may be engaging the team in trying to see if there's some kind of mutually beneficial position that the parties can arrive at,'' [agency chief Billy Hunter said]. "Maybe there's somebody willing to trade for him. Maybe you can do a buyout. It depends on the parties. [Marbury] isn't inclined to accept 80 cents on the dollar. Our principal role is to make sure he gets paid."
Right now though, the Players' Union has no basis for contacting the Knicks and initiating a discussion. And hearing the team's latest comments on the matter, it looks like they won't be able to get involved anytime soon.
The Knicks are now saying that Marbury will not be waived, and that there will be no trade and no buyout. That's right, they're apparently content to pay Marbury all that money to sit at the end of the team's bench in street clothes. As Mike D'Antoni said to reporters today, as far as the Knicks are concerned, the issue is resolved.
NBA Players' Union May Get Involved in the Marbury Situation originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
