The soap opera is over. Tuesday, Stephon Marbury and the Knicks agreed to a buyout of his deal and New York has placed him on waivers. He's expected to sign with Boston. Here's what they're saying out in the ether about the final chapter ...

Straight Bangin': "In effect, the Knicks decided that all of the tomfoolery and insanity, all of the wasted time and resources, the chance for Stephon to redeem himself with a title after behaving like a child — it was all worth $2m now and $2m in luxury tax savings. $4m to the Knicks is like 50 cents to Tiger Woods. It's pathetic and disgusting. Maybe that's an overreaction, or a reaction encouraged by an irrational, visceral disdain for Steph. But as a Knicks fan who would like his favorite team to do one thing right for once, this feels like the latest betrayal. They couldn't even do this one thing. Unreal. And for what? FOR WHAT?"

Tommy Dee, The Knicks Blog: "In all honesty I hope that he goes to Boston and wins, because if he doesn’t, if the Celts somehow fall victim to Lebron or Kobe,the fans will all point at Steph as the reason they lost. He’s a born loser. He would be the common denominator. I hope not because I’d hate for the Celtics fans to see that getting mad at Steph just makes you even more mad inside. And that the anger that I, myself, felt for a hometown guy is so infuriating because you know he doesn’t care. He had no heart for all the fans who held him accountable.  He never played hard for those Knick fans, and he’ll never play hard for the fans of Boston. He wasn’t Starks, Oakley or Ewing, or Walt, Bradley or Reed."

Hardwood Paroxysm: "It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Marbury in the long-term, though. Supposing he latches on with the Celtics and does a respectable job, what kind of contract would he deserve this summer? The midlevel? Less? Every dollar that some EuroLeague owner has? It’s a situation that’s entirely dependent on random, chaotic circumstances, and I’m not putting my money down on any particular outcome. Matt called Rafer Alston a 'wild card' for the Magic, and to an extent he is, but is there a bigger question mark in this league than Stephon Marbury? He could potentially score 20 points off the bench for you in a big game, or he could mire your team in an unvanquishable funk with his bizarre sense of self-righteousness. Starbury’s been a one-man show in his own theater for a long time, but the intermission is over and it’s just getting to the good part."

NBA Noise: "If the Celtics sign Marbury, they must be sweating their chances of repeating as champions this season and feel a strong need to make an impact move. This is likely due to the continued success of the Lakers, Cavs, Magic and Spurs. This is not the dependable, no risk signing of P.J. Brown last season. This is a Russian roullette move to get a final competitive edge before the playoff push. It's (theoretically) possible that it could end up being the brilliant move by the Celtics brass that sets them apart from the competition. However, if you asked me if I wanted to bring in a head case who is not a proven winner and is on his decline to my favorite team, the answer would clearly be 'no.'"

Posting & Toasting: "When Stephon Marbury joined the Knicks, it was all about basketball. I have very clear memories of joining a capacity Garden crowd on January 31, 2004 to watch Marbury light up his old Suns team just weeks into his Knick tenure. Steph sparked New York in the middle two quarters with individual runs of 11 and 9 points. He was pulling up from absolutely anywhere he pleased, testing the deepest waters of three-point range and stoking the frenzied crowd all the while. Marbury finished with 35 points that night, and responded to questions of revenge bluntly: 'I wanted to win the game. I don't have any vendettas against them. I understand the decision they made. I have no hard feelings toward them.' He then led a team that prominently featured Shandon Anderson and a 37 year-old Dikembe Mutombo to the playoffs, only to fall to the far superior New Jersey Nets in four games."

Celtics Hub: "If Marbury has lost a step on defense or isn’t ready to buy in, he shouldn’t be playing 15 minutes against Cleveland in a playoff game. Between now and then, of course, there are games against the Wizards where the Celtics can find out what they need to know, and I suppose it’s worth paying the pro-rated veteran’s minimum to do that research and prevent Marbury from signing with Cleveland or something. So maybe that’s the answer. Maybe this is a cheap fishing expedition the team would be dumb not to go on. And I’m fine with that as long as the team treats Marbury like any anonymous rookie gunning for a 10-day contract. He shouldn’t be playing June minutes just because of his name."

Sports On My Mind: "Forget Boston, Orlando is the right place for Marbury. With Superman in the post and Hedo and Rashard spreading the floor for him, it is the perfect destination for a classic penetrate-and-dish guard. Even a step-slower out-of-practice Marbury could step right in and replicate Jameer Nelson’s game. Rafer Alson? I think that Orlando dropped the ball here."

Darren Rovell, Sport Biz: "Marbury was scheduled to earn $20.8 million from the Knicks. So let’s play it conservative and say the final agreement is for $17.8 million. Using that number, we worked up some math that you will surely cringe over.

— Days since the start of the season: 119
— Salary per day: $149,579
— Salary per hour: $6,232
— Salary per minute: $104
— Salary per second: $1.73

Indeed, Marbury earned enough money to buy a pair of his Starbury shoes ($14.98 per pair) every nine seconds. Assuming an average per capita income of $39,000 here in the United States and a $17.8 million settlement, Marbury earned what an average American earns for the year in less than 6 1/2 hours."

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