Knicks pondering cutting ties with Marbury
After Stephon Marbury refused to play for the second time in a week, New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni is urging the team’s management to suspend the guard and send him home, sources told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night.
One league source familiar with the Knicks' plans late Wednesday night said that the organization was resolved to finally part with Marbury over the weekend.
Marbury refused to dress for the Knicks’ 110-96 loss to the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills on Wednesday, two league sources with knowledge of the situation said. The Knicks were down to two healthy guards, Chris Duhon and Anthony Roberson. With Nate Robinson out with a groin injury and Cuttino Mobley undergoing tests on his heart, the Knicks needed Marbury to play against the Pistons. Sources say he was approached prior to the game, but refused.
The Knicks are within their rights to suspend Marbury and separate him from the team. Marbury dressed for Friday’s game in Milwaukee so the Knicks could have the minimum complement of eight active players, but he did not want to play. Marbury made it clear that if he wasn’t in the team’s plans beyond this transition period following two major trades, he doesn’t want to be on the court.
Knicks owner Jim Dolan has refused to pay Marbury the full buyout on the $21.9 million owed him this season, and negotiations between management and Marbury have gone nowhere. Without an agent, Marbury has been using the NBA Players Association to help represent him.
