The Knicks Fix

I loved seeing marbury turn down the offer. they are going in another direction. Let QRich get used to bricking for 7 points in 39 minutes. I could score more than 7 points in 39 minutes. Its great to see the Knicks gut the team for the next year and half. Why should Marbury play for this loser. Its far different with Crawford and Zach, I wouldn't play with the bums that were on the team last night either. kudos, to you Marbury.

@ GEE THE STEPH FAN:

you're a loser too.

Marbury putting his own ego ahead of the teams needs? Who'd have thought.

I hope they refuse to buy him out and refuse to allow him around the team unless he agrees to play if needed.

You don't reward players for this stuff.

@ GEE THE STEPH FAN

you steph fans make me laugh.
steph is a loser and so are his fans

why don't you follow steph to
whatever team he goes to next?
GOOD RIDDANCE!

walsh you need to get steph off this team ASAP
i am tired of reading stories about this fool

Please get this fool out of town ASAP

They should give Harrington #3 when he comes if steph doesnt want to wear the uniform.

what a disgrace... but expected.

Lord knows I am not a Steph fan. However, if he doesn't want to play...he doesn't want to play.
You can't blame him for that. It's obvious the other teammates don't like him, so Steph doesn't owe us anything.
He knows this is only a business and nothing more. What would happen if Steph went out there and got hurt?
I can't wait to see Steph off this team but at the same time.....Marbury was actually right this time.
If we're going in another direction which doesn't include Steph, don't ask Steph if he wants to play.
And that's the bottom line.
Bad move by Dantoni.
It was the only bad move I've seen him make so far.
Let Steph just sit on the bench and not play.
Steph is still going to demand all his money and you know what? He might actually get it now.
Dantoni is mad and that forces Walsh to make something happen or risk that locker room blowing up.
If Donnie was smart, he would buy Steph out before the new blood comes to town.
Steph is a very smart business man and if he says he wants all his money.....he will get all his money.

If Marbury doesn't want to play, he owes the Knicks some $$$.

So you think it was right for him leaving his team out to dry? The sad thing is that he actually thinks that he made a point tonight. WRONG! Knicks fan and management would have gained respect for Steph tonight had he gone out there and helped out. If Steph played tonight and went 2 for 12 he still would have gained respect from people outside of Team Marbaury.

If Steph wanted to show that Mike Dantoni was wrong for benching him, tonight was his time, and all he did was confirm that his bad attitude hasnt gone anywhere!

No, tonight I gained respect for Dantoni for not throwing Steph under the bus (Larry Brown would have for sure) and for not making an excuse about a lack of hands tonight being the reason for the loss, and by demanding that we need to go out an win tomorrow. That's how a man with integrity handles his.

The Knix finally have a valid reason not to pay Starby. I knew this would happen. Suspend his ass and move him. Starby is an idiot to travel with the team. It doesn't get any more bizarre.

DTR

sounds to me like this site has alot of country minded no sensse bloggers
that grew up around cows an alot of trees
nothing else to do but drink smoke an use the net...

marbury wasn't rite nor wrong
now u wonna use him
i would of done the samething to
DANphony...

the funnyest thing is that this is all for who lebron..lmao..he aint gonna make it here u gotta be mentally tough for this city...

never lived in the south never will not l.i or upstate n.y

freee starbury
freee starbury
freee starbury
freee starbury
freee starbury
freee starbury

it's an nyc thing u wouldn't know anything about it u indoor mofos
almost all the idiots come from the south...

How is it possible that anyone remains a Starbury fan? Preposterous.

At this point, I send him home but refuse to release him unless he takes a buyout at 80% or less. Let's see how well you do on the FA market next year Steph -- I'm sure NBA teams will be dying to add your useless corpse to their roster. :-P

You have to respect Steph for not playing, although I personally wanted to see what he can do, and he could have given them a chance to win even. Their offense was terrible tonight. But looking at it now that I read this and saw the videos, can you really be mad at the guy? I know the hater are all over this saying, "see hes still got a bad attitude" but look at it from his perspective, the team has totally screwed you all year, putting you in exile and now they need to dress him to fill a spot? come on...look he paused and said "i dont choose who plays and who doesn't" something is up.

Anyone that makes 20 million $ a year does not need to be "Freed". Professional loser Stephon Marbury just showed his true colors, AGAIN. And, by the way, doesnt refusing to play violate his contract? You know, the contract which Steph says he's going to get "every penny" of?

@DaGawd
[i]"never lived in the south never will not l.i or upstate n.y[/i]

Yeah...because at 29, you still live with your mommy, in a small apartment, in the projects in the Bronx, you clean a subway station by day, and sometimes, your go to to the library at night, and use their computer.

Then on Saturdays, you go down to the playground, and school all the 12 year old kids with your nasty crossover wearing your Starbury sneakers....

Muwahahahaha...how sad.

Seriously, someone already said it...this was a watershed moment for Steph...giftwrapped for him...and like the mental defect he is, he passed on it...because he has never had any courage, he has never had any education, he has never had to THINK a lick, to make gobs of money his whole life...he is a product of unbridled ego and the NBA system.

All he had to do was play, and perhaps even play really well, maybe even get a few assists and rebounds, and not say a word...and people would have said 'woah! He really should be playing". And then the ball would have been back in Dantoni's court and he would heve to play him, while checking out what Mobley could do...at the very LEAST...he would have made himself a lot more attractive to other teams, including ones in Italy, soon to be his new home.

You gotta form a mental image of the future, and imagine this uneducated, overly tattoed, 55 year old, mumbling guy, wearing all this bling, some cheezy sneakers, and hanging around the playgrounds in Coney Island, trying to convince all the young hotshots, who have no clue who he is, that he was once the greatest point guard in the NBA...

Muwahahaha

Marbury is PAID 21 MILLION DOLLARS to do what the coach says.

His attitude epitomizes the ME first attitude that will NEVER get this man to a world championship.

Cant blame him for not wanting to play??

If you told your boss you didnt want to work you'd be out on the street. Marbury's comments after the game were so coached to avoid a fine.

Walsh should fine Marbury for this episode and sell his contract to Europe. Let him sue.

@Romeo

"You have to respect Steph for not playing..."

No...you don't...You have to simply shake your head, and say "Typical moron move by Steph"...

Look, I don't 'hate Steph'...and when he was playing well for the Knicks in certain stretches, I was rooting for him, when he came to the Knicks, I bought his Jersey even...

But it is HIS FAULT he is in this awkward position. It was what he has DONE the last few years, especially last year in Pheonix, that has led to this. It is what HE said during preseason...that he was a 'starter' and 'expected' to start...that forced D'Antoni to decide if he wasn't going to start him, giving him 15 minutes a night would just make team chemistry WORSE...even if he had to give those minutes to two CBA hacks...

So here comes an incredible quirk of chance, and he is going to have an opportunity to play 35-40 minutes...who knows, even START...and he declined...now...it seems to me...if someone is giving you 1 million bucks every couple of weeks, they should be able to ask you to clean the bathrooms...but I understand he has a fancy contract that says... no...he gets to sit on the bench with a towel on his head and sulk for that dough...

I really, really hope that those clever MSG lawyers figure out a way to suspend him for this, and not pay him for refusing to play.

If you think Steph is really sad now...imagine him without ANY big paychecks coming in every 2 weeks...

Hey Steph...it's a tough economy right now...I'm guessing even cheezy sneaker sales of non-playing NBA players are starting to sag...I'd think long and hard about what you're going to be doing in 5 years...somehow...I just don't see you on TV anymore...

Jon Starks isn't any smarter, or better educated than Steph, he can't string together a coherent paragraph...but he has a job with the organization, with the NBA...he has a career...he has a future...because Knicks fans LOVE HIM...even though he had that horrendous game in the finals....we all still LOVE HIM...because he has heart...he always gave EVERYTHING he had for his team...he never SULKED...he didn't FREAK out when Houston came to the team...he has always had a GREAT attitude...and perhaps, just perhaps...because he has some PERSPECTIVE...no college ever gave him a free ride...no NBA team drafted him...he was workin' in a grocery store when he got his chance...and he made the best of it...

The Knicks are moving forward...and we need guys like David Lee and Wilson Chandler, Duhon...and even Nate...no more Marburys or Currys...

Give him the T.o. trreatment bench him and dont pay him for conduct detrimental to the team

In the strict sense, D'Antoni has cause for being 'furious'. In the real world, not so much.

Team Knickerbocker has made it clear for over a month that Marbury is member of the team in name only. Now, due to actions of their own doing (trades that left a rotation of seven), they want Marbury to play? And does anyone think when all players pass their physicals, those 30 minutes are going to be available for Stephon?

I'm no Starbury apologist. He lost me for good when he left the team last year. But I fully understand why he would refuse the request (and there is a difference between a request before the game and refusing to enter the court during the game) to play.

Stephon Marbury is a piece of trash. Let's throw out the garbage ASAP!!! He comes in to NY and brags about how good it is to be back home and how he is sooo happy to finally play for his hometown team. You know what, if I was getting paid 21.9 mill, I would do anything the team asked me to do. I would even perform at halftime. Stephon is what we all know he is, SELFISH!!!!!! I can't wait until we get rid of this bum, what a joke! Starbury, I hope the team sends you home for the holidays!

Let’s review.

Stephon Marbury is in the final year (worth $21 million) of a contract to play for the New York Knicks.

In the next to last year of that contract he has a falling out with the owner, president and coach of the team. The relationship begins to fall apart in the press as the owner, president, coach and Marbury look publicly foolish because the owner decides to allow dirty laundry to be aired instead of settling a sexual harassment/hostile workplace lawsuit for $10 million dollars. Dolan does not like or respect the complainant and refuses to pay her. But his failure to spend the $10 million dollars turns a crack in management into a gapping hole for the world to peer in and for Stern to slip his omnipotent paws through. Stern, a lawyer, shouts to the world that MSG management is not intelligent, really a dig at Dolan for not doing what the NBA (Nothing But Attorneys) normally does – settle, settle, settle and hide the facts.

The jury makes sure that the smug and improperly prepared Dolan loses big for allowing such a wretched work environment to exist and for being spiteful to the complainant. The President/Coach loses but is not ordered to pay damages by the jury (they don’t fully believe Anucha’s story; and she is still pissed enough about it to publicly wish the President/Coach ill and more sleeping pills in the name of sexually harassed women globally). Dolan blames Stephon for taking advantage of his power by sleeping with the cute help and cavalierly revealing it at the trial held only because of Dolan’s decision. Dolan loses the trial, pays big, has to give the intern more money and a better title (talk about titular head), hear from Stern and his father about how he screwed up. Later we find Dolan backed into a corner by Sterns fist and forced to hire Walsh and other NBA office bigs .

But before the Walsh hire, Steph gets the sense he is being made a scapegoat, which he is – both a scapegoat by his own doing and being made a scapegoat by MSG. The President/Coach, emotionally decimated from the trial and problems with a sick mom, comes to a job he didn’t want in the first place which is why he hired two hall of fame coaches (who by the way were chased out in part by Marbury). But Dolan doesn’t want to spend anymore money than he has to and what the hell, Isiah can coach or at least pretend to coach. So Isiah continues to coach and like D’Antoni would do a year later, he half-heartedly tries to sit his two stars Curry and Marbury for underperforming. The New York boy threatens the Chicago boy and the coach from the hood in Chicago allows the Yorkie to split on the team sorta, kinda. So Marbury leaves and disrupts the squad. Eventually Marbury, who also suffers a bit of tragedy himself with his father’s death, is told he will never play in a Knick uniform again. Marbury decides to have surgery on bone spurs and end his season and most likely his tenure as a Knick.

Walsh comes in to work with Dolan and possibly Thomas. Thomas’ power fades his influence, according to Walsh fades a little slower. Walsh adopts the same 2010 salary cap mantra Isiah was chanting in the end. However unlike Isiah, Walsh claims that Marbury is being given a chance as they figure out how to get rid of Marbury for less than $21 million and inevitable embarrassment of Marbury beating them as an adversary for another team. So Marbury works his butt off to get in the best shape ever and then is given significant minutes in training camp, albeit with the second unit. He is treated as though he has a chance to play in the regular season or at least a chance to be part of the team. But right before the regular season begins, Walsh and D’Antoni tell Steph he is not part of the plans and they won’t release him for all his money. They will release him for $15 million but not $21 million. Something about not allowing Marbury to look like the winner. . D’Antoni claims he won’t play Steph because he is not in the plans and it would be disrespectful to play him for spot minutes, because he is a starter type of guy. Walsh acts like he didn’t know what D’Antoni was doing although they talk every day about a myriad of things. So, D’Antoni sits Steph while Walsh tries to get some help from the NBLA to convince Steph to take $15 million and go to a West Coast Team. Dolan continues to play hard ball like he did with Auncha Browne, Larry Brown and now Stephon last name not Brown. But Dolan keeps losing for losing.

SO NOW HERE WE ARE. D’Antoni and Walsh are short a player or two and will be required to wear out their remaining players a little for the next couple of days. They take the team apart and part with two of the team’s principals. In order to make sure that Steph does not play more than necessary, the Zbo trade is not made until Cuttino Mobley, that great shooting guard soon to play point, is secured. Earlier D’Antoni and Walsh kicked Steph to the curb and told that he is no longer in the plans. Now, D’Antoni asks Steph for a favor and yes it is a favor because they have already agreed that Steph would not play for or practice with the team unless a spot to play him regularly would open up. Rules require eight players so Steph has got to suit up. But Coach asks Steph to consider playing for a deconstructed, lousy team until Cuttino Mobley can get into uniform so that Steph can be put back into the penalty box, I mean his suit at the end of the bench. D’Antoni makes it exceedingly clear that Steph is still not in the plans but instead of spot minutes during a game, he will spot Steph some minutes during the next two games. Steph responds that given their previous agreement about him not playing for this team, “I don’t feel comfortable being used by you and asked at the last minute to do you this solid by playing so that Duhon doesn’t get too tired.” Marbury essentially tells them “I have no intention of being made a fool of by being put out there at the last minute with a team that just lost two major players and is rebuilding. A team I have not been practicing with because of our agreement that I would not be a public nuisance. A team that promises to make me look bad tonight and tomorrow since Nate is pissed, everyone is upset and we are lousy anyway. Thank you but no thank you for the offer of 70 minutes this season. No, I’ll wait and roll those minutes over if you don’t mind.”

AND YOU FANS SAY MARBURY IS THE SELF-CENTERED, SELFISH FOOL.

How many of you would help your employer out after he publicly embarrassed you and banned you from working with your co-workers because he doesn’t like you, but now he needs you to fill a seat for two days until your replacement comes and everything goes back to subnormal -- with you on the outside looking in, again?

Marbury is an employee of MSG-Knicks.
He's getting paid $ 21.9 mil.
His boss should've asked him to go in the game regardless of their pre-game meeting. If Marbury refused, that's breach of contract.
At a minimum, dock his pay.

If it's an outright Breach of Contract and lawyers can prove it, then his contract can be nullified and voided. (i think).

Or sue Steph.

I'd make that clown dress in uniform every game and just sit his butt on the bench. Until something comes along that is beneficial to the Knicks.

Zach & Crawford at least went playing hard, and rehabilitated their trade value for the Knicks. Especially Zach who knew for sure he was a goner and still put up his numbers. I wish them both luck, and will be rooting for them to do well.

Starbury should have taken this opportunity to showcase himself to a championship contender who could use him. He is such selfish idiot that he can't even see that he could be playing for a title this season with a contender.

He makes Spreewell look like a contractual genius.

So will the geniuses who have praised Walsh for not buying Marbury out during the summer when he knew Marbury would not be a part of the team, please tell us why Marbury is still here and why it is a good thing?

If it is a breach of contract and there is no side agreement, then we will see the Knicks take action against Marbury. . . .

Let's see what happens. What will Walsh do to Marbury now. . . .

Did Marbury breach his contract or did he refuse to alter his arrangement with the team to get 70 minutes of playing time in with a dysfunctional team?

Let's see . . . .

Marbury ain't ruining my Xmas, big up to Donnie Claus. Get a top 2 or 3 pick (#1 would mean to much scrutiny from media). Marbury is what he is and that's the price for keepin him around. He is one of few players that doesn't want to play for Mike D and we will find out for sure in 2010. Happy Holidaze

you had it up until SO HERE WE ARE NOW>

Marbury is an employee of MSG. He gets paid to play basketball for as long as the coach asks. He has NO AGREEMENT to not play for this team. As a member of the TEAM. He has to do what is best for the TEAM. That is and has always been the problem with Steph.

It is always what is best for Marbury. "Im a starter and wont be anything else", "Im going home because Mardy is starting in Phoenix"., "Im the best point guard in the league"

It is always about Stehon Marbury and NOT the team.

That he is nolding out for "His money that he earned" is just another
symptom of the disease.

Lives: No excuse for Walsh not buying out Marbury over the summer. Once he saw he couldn't trade him he should have removed him and Big Snacks from the team whose contracts expire before 2010 anyway and develop some younger players on the roster. But I feel this is more Dolan than Walsh.

However, Lives and DaJoka are you kidding me. Are you seriously defending Marbury's decision not to play. Lets break it down:

(1) Marbury has a contract for 21 MILLION. How anyone can justify him, irregardless of what has happened to him, not playing is beyond me. It is irrational and counterproductive for someone playing for another contract.

(2) Marbury quit on D'Antoni in PHX, quit on numerous coaches in NY including his supposed best friend, quit on Minnesota which if he really wanted to win he would have stayed there, isolated all of his teamates in NJ. Seriously, if you were the NY management would you trust this guy when you are building for the future.

(3) Forget how morally wrong what he did was, if any married employee of a company did what he did (sleeping with an intern and then passing her around with his cousin to sleep with too and cursing out one of the female managers of the company) they would be fired or in the very least seriously demoted. How can anyone justify this behavior and say he should still be starting.

(4) The team was not winning with Marbury. Four years of losing. Again any president would be fired by its CEO for the years of ineptitude Marbury has orchestrated as this teams PG. They had every right to demote him based on the play and record of the team alone!! And don't say Marbury didn't deserve to be benched, he isolated teamates, had coaches fired, abandoned his own team, and was utterly despised by the fans in NY.

(5) This is up for dispute based on what I heard with my own ears and not the-media spin. D'Antoni says he asked Marbury to play. Marbury says he was told he would not play, does not make decisions about who would play and was not in the teams plans. If what D'Antoni says is true, then Marbury is under contract to play and shouldn't even have a choice of whether to go out there or not. How many people would dream of playing in an NBA game. How many people are struggling right now financially and seeing this $21 mil guy say, nope I'd rather collect the hard earned fans money for doing nothing. People don't have jobs, homes, or cars but are shelling out for a release by going to a Knicks game, seeing their money go to Marbury refusing to play. And we are justifying this!!

(6) And stop knocking lawyers. We are a very needed part of any developed society

Let's see, if my boss disparaged me or if I don't get along with my boss, regardless I still have to perform my job and deliver.

Also, I can quit on my own or get fired if I don't deliver all the time on my commitments.

How many amongst us do not like our bosses yet we still have to come to work, perform, and deliver?

How many times do you see a player play only play 20 seconds for the entire game to do spot up duty? The Najeras, Malik Roses, do it all the time. It's their job to go in the game when asked.

I recall with the Bulls, Wennington went in the game for the very first time with seconds to go in the game. Jordan ended up feeding Wennington for the winning shot. (this was a game in Chicago, not the double nickel game @ the Garden.)

TODAY

***Alan Hahn will be on WFAN 660 AM @ 11:25 am.***

@ Lives In New Jersey

The only genius this morning is Walsh, any Knick fan who woke up today and does not feel a sense of relief and hope for this franchise certainly is no genius.

This is the Knicks greatest day since their glory days, even bigger then the day they drafted Patrick and I just loved him and was a fan in those Glory Days.

What has this genius done?? Well today we have a Knick team that is looking at the year 2010 with only two players that have player options which is Curry & Jeffries. We all know Curry's fate. He will be rehabilitated and traded for something beneficial to the Knicks, and I have no doubt this will be the case! Because Walsh has proven to us ... that nothing going down unless this is the case. Even if you are Starbury.

This is what the 2010 team salary looks like:
Curry - $11,276,863 - Player Option
Jeffries - $6,883,400 - Player Option
Gallo - $3,304,560 - Team Option
Chandler - $2,130,481 - Team Option

We know Curry and maybe Jeffries are goners by then.

So you now have the most famous and richest team in basketball, all of sudden could have it's entire salary cap to go after all these studs and to keep key young players like Chandler, Lee, or Gallo if they flourish. Any combination of these Free Agents may actually take slightly less than max offers just for the chance to play together and win championships. Plus a coach who they all love playing for!

GM's today all over the league today are not feeling too well.

This is a "Great Day" for the Knicks ...the worst that can happen this year is a lottery pick. I can deal with that, especially since we don't have a first rounder next year. Plus a solid rookie will help salary wise for 2010.

Go check out what Stephen Smith has to say about this trade and Walsh.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3718274&categoryId=2459788&n8pe6c=2

Alan Hahn will be on WFAN 660 @ 11:25am TODAY to give us an update on everything.

Hey Alan,

Seems that no teams are interested in Starbury because he is a nut job. Is it true that every team is avoiding him altogether? Any insight?

If so, I hope he ends up in Italy or Bolivia.

Dave

I'm so sick of this drama and I blame Donnie Walsh 110%. If it were up to Mike D'Antoni, Crackbury would be sent home and banned from the team. What is the point of keeping him here? It makes no sense to me.

And all you Crackbury fans are either 13 years old, his customers, streetballers from the ghetto or just plain retarded.

I think it's safe to say that we have two authentic white men running the Knicks, as evidenced by the overly favorable media coverage and there dishonest handling of Steph...Fuk Dantoni...best case scenario we overpay for two Rashard Lewis types when all the big dogs resign with there current team..Newsflash: Cleveland is winning the championship this season folks!!...bron isn't leaving and neither is bosh...pipe dreams and a lost season that had a glimmer of promise...Apparently Donnie saw talent in Anthony Roberson, wrong...saw talent in Galinari...wrong, DJ Augistin was the right call..and sees a starting pg in Chris Duhon..wrong again....dont let the NYC media tell it, they're just "comfortable" with the new leadership at the Garden...

lol kandiman Cavs are not even CLOSE to winning the championship with the Celtics still dominant. Gallinari has been disappointing yes but don't be so quick to judge when he hasn't even played real minutes. Duhon is NOT a superstar but a good stopgap PG to fill in crackbury. Idiots like you make me feel sick.

You know the guy who doesn't chip in a dollar for the office pool for the 100 million dollar lotto jackpot becuase he doesn't want to split the pot. Lot of that going on here.

Focus on the prize and don't let the next post take away this moment. it was a good day for knick fans. Only Mike D had a bad moment. I'm good.

Ah, I love the debates. This is a great topic and we should tallk about it. Knicks4life, I love it when we get into it...(no homo)..

Lives is absolutely right on this.
Why people want to compare playing in the NBA with a regular job is beyond me.

I'll try to break it down like Lives did even though I know I'll come up short.

Knicks4life check this out...you said.
"Marbury has a contract for 21 MILLION. How anyone can justify him, irregardless of what has happened to him, not playing is beyond me. It is irrational and counterproductive for someone playing for another contract."

What do you mean when you say..."irregardless of what has happened to him"? Marbury does not have to play if he doesn't want to. Yes, Steph left the team last year and yes he slept with an intern. We all know that now. However, that has nothing to do with what happened last night. Steph is a businessman and he knows he will not be here next year and maybe even later this year. He knows there are TEAMS that will sign him if we were to buy him out. He knows Dantoni doesn't like him as a person. Which is very different than someone who doesn't like you as a player. This is personal with these 2. However, Steph will not show that...Steph will continue to think business first. Dantoni needs to realize that you cannot ask someone that you've outkast to play when you want. Yes, he is the coach but Marbury has the leverage here.

"Marbury quit on D'Antoni in PHX, quit on numerous coaches in NY including his supposed best friend, quit on Minnesota which if he really wanted to win he would have stayed there, isolated all of his teamates in NJ. Seriously, if you were the NY management would you trust this guy when you are building for the future."

That has nothing to do with last night. Yes he did quit on every team he played for. Howevver, that has no bearing on him refusing to play for a coach that has said he doesn't want Steph around. Dantoni loves Duhon so much, let Duhon play 45 minutes.

"Forget how morally wrong what he did was, if any married employee of a company did what he did (sleeping with an intern and then passing her around with his cousin to sleep with too and cursing out one of the female managers of the company) they would be fired or in the very least seriously demoted. How can anyone justify this behavior and say he should still be starting."

Who said he should be starting? And your confusing having a regular 9 to 5 with playing in the league. There's a big difference working in a law firm and playing ball in the league...BIG DIFFERENCE!!! You can get fired for doing what Steph did in a regular job. Obviously you can get away with it in the NBA.

"The team was not winning with Marbury. Four years of losing. Again any president would be fired by its CEO for the years of ineptitude Marbury has orchestrated as this teams PG. They had every right to demote him based on the play and record of the team alone!! And don't say Marbury didn't deserve to be benched, he isolated teamates, had coaches fired, abandoned his own team, and was utterly despised by the fans in NY."

This just proves my point from above. Your right, a regular employee would get fired but this is not a regular job. Marbury has the leverage right now. Pay him his money and let him walk if you really want to get rid of him. Don't tell the man your not apart of the future of this team, then ask him to play to help that same team look respectable. Marbury is not dumb, he knows Dantoni needed him last night. Throw Steph under the bus and if given the opportunity you better believe he will throw you under the bus as well.

This situation should've been taken care of before the season. It's not Donnies fault, it's Dolans. Dolan doesn't want to buy the guy out with the full value of his contract.

If the Knicks take any action on Steph, the players union will have a field day with the Knicks. The Knicks best bet is to just act like this didn't happen and keep him on the bench until his contract is done...then cut ties.
Or Donnie could just give him the full 21.9 million and say good riddance. Steph was not a distraction last night. He was still cheering on the players when they made good plays.
It really made me feel good when the crowd in Milwaukee started chanting for him to play. Like it or not..he is a star and he has star talent. He will go to another team and you better believe, in his first game at the Garden in another uniform....he is going to TORCH Duhon!!!!!!!
Don't get it twisted though...I don't want Steph on this team but I'm a realist and I realize last night Dantoni was wrong.

Real quick guys...I just saw this. I'm probably late but I want to share anyway....

Knicks Have Standing Offer On Table For Marion
More Knicks News
Simmons: You Know LeBron Is Going To The Knicks
Marbury Refuses Chance To Play
Randolph Dealt To Clippers
Agent To Bosh And Wade Doesn't Understand 2010 Fuss
New York Knicks Archive

Knicks Links
New York Home Page
New York Roster
New York Message Board
Find Knicks Tickets
Feedback or Suggestions

Nov 22, 2008 12:03 AM EST
A person with knowledge of the situation said the Knicks have "a standing offer" with the Miami Heat that would involve sending Stephon Marbury for forward Shawn Marion.

The Heat have thus far declined the offer.

@ Dakota

I read this rumor also ... however read Pat Riley is not interested.

LMFAO @ D'Anphoni presuming he is making the playoffs this year. What a clown.

STUPID NEW ERA KNICK FANS are the dumbest bunch. Now D'Anphoni publically states Marbury didn't want to play. I thought Marbury wasn't part of the plans? What gives? Wait a minute. Didn't D'Anphoni state he didn't want to embarrass Stephon because there weren't guaranteed minutes and they wanted to move ahead? Didn't D'Anphoni say he had other players who were considered the future of the team and they were getting shots to lead this team? What happened to Crawful and Collins? Is Cuttino Mobley now the future?

Let me this straight. D'Anphoni comes out and tells the media that he asked Marbury to play last night and we are supposed to believe that? Wasn't the theme in preseason that Marbury was going to be a part of the Knick bench? Wasn't he part of the plans then? All of a sudden, Marbury isn't part of the plans and is benched/made inactive. All throughout this young season we hear that Marbury isn't part of the plans, correct? You morons really think D'Anphoni asked Marbury to play 35 minutes last night when he has not practiced with the starters all season? Are you all THAT STUPID?

Wait! LOL, silly me! I'm talking to the STUPID NEW ERA KNICK FANS!

WE WANT STEPH!
WE WANT STEPH!
WE WANT STEPH!

Dajoka-cliffnotes..nobody is interested in your opinion that much. Not even Marbury's garbage can take the smile off my face that these trades have made.

Marbury will be gone by the end of the season. The Knicks are going full steam ahead towards 2010. They aren't taking on the league's highest priced dead weight anymore, and they now have a coach with a system that NBA ballers like to play.

Can't say that it guarantees success but things are looking up. Soon Knick fans will be saying "Stephon who?"

We all know who Walsh is going after in 2010, I'm curious as to who else Walsh will acquire before then.

Bulljive, I'm with you man. I have a ear to ear smile on my face as well.
I'm just talking about the Marbury situation.
Dantoni was wrong last night and that's it.

As far as the trades go, I love them and I can't wait until we're able to spend more money than any team in the league come 2010.

Yessir!!!!!!!

Wow, what a loser marbury is! hahahhahah not only is an absolute bum but he has the IQ of a head of cabbage.

When someone is paying you $21 million per year to play basketball and they ask you to perform, you must play. Case closed.

Marbury creates trouble wherever he goes, look at the poor intern and Isiah Thoma, Larry Brown and that was just on the Knicks!

He has been a cancer on the Nets, Timberwolves and Suns as well. He will be a piece of garbage me player where ever he goes.

He is just a backup at this point anyway, who is a loser. He has never won anywhere and will never be a starter on a winning team. His only shot is to be 7th or 8th guy on a good team. If he actually has to play significant minutes or be a team leader, the team will implode and will end up in the lottery.

So riddance Stephanie, you are nothing but a whiny little girl!

@ Hahn

You and the rest of the writers are an BUTT! "Marbury Refused to Play"... If Marbury REFUSED to play he would breach his contract. Marbury was asked if he wanted to play and he DECLINED to play; there is a difference! If D'anPhony the L i a r told Marbury he was putting him in the line up tonight and tomorrow night and Marbury said NO, then you can rightfully say, "Marbury Refused to Play". D'anPhony l i e d again about what was said between he and Marbury, because I believe that Phony told him that it would only be for two nights; I believe Marbury because he was the ONLY person who did not l i e under oath during the Anucha Brown trial. If he can tell the truth during that situation, why in the heck would he l i e about this?! SOME White folk are a trip and people who can't see through their bigoted opinions are ignorant. Why the H e l l would he want or have to showcase himself? How many years has he been in the league? Who doesn't know his game in the league? Who didn't see what kind of shape he came in this year? So, Alan, that excuse was frackanackal Bawl Chit! And Marbury doesn't have to prove to D'anPhony that he was wrong; everybody with common sense knows already that what he did was WRONG! I am not a Marbury fan, I am a human being FAN and you don't treat people like this! What Free Agent in their right mind can trust D'anPhony and his l y i n g BUTT! I can't wait until Marbury can speak and tell what really happened, because he's the only person in this whole mess with credibility.

You Marbury apologists are really getting desperate. Refused/declined are the same thing. They should ask him to play again on Tuesday and when he says no, go to David Stern with the breach of contract.

25% of americans still think george bush has don a good job.

45% of americans believe sarah palin is qualified to be president.

5% of fixers support stephon marbury no matter what he does.

thus fixers are 5 to 9 times less moronic than the average american.

lives, jimmy:

I thought new york fans are smart. that has to be questioned after this west virginian slickster has hustled new york on this marbury agenda.

DA takes the job, instead of the Chicago job with a roster that is perfect for his style.

Marbs loses 10 pounds, says he cannot wait to play with DA.

Walsh says marbury "looks great."

DA starts camp with Marbs playing SMALL FORWARD on the SECOND TEAM.

He showers NATE ROBINSON with praise, saying he will have the same role as Barbosa.

Starts season saying Marbury has no spot in rotation.

marbury is NOT ALLOWED TO PRACTICE.

Walsh is SUPRISED, said he needs to meet with the coach.

Marbury tries to shoot in practice, and the assistants tell him to get off the court.

Now he should bail out the coach for 2 games, after being humiliated by this guy, while his career is in its prime?

MARK JACKSON would not have handled Marbury this way. marbury would have played, we would have won 35-40 games, he would not have been resigned. Simple and clear cut.

D'Antoni is a fraud. Anyone who cannot see that this is personal is not reading between the lines.

Wake up new york

We are also going to have the MLE in 2010 as well right ? Does anyone know ?

I think if Steph was given the opportunity to play and accepted that role, it would have done nothing but assist him in his buyout negotiations. One hand washes the other.
All the Steph supporters are being short sighted. Sure he is the best PG on the team, but how has that equalled success in any of his previous stops or this one ? He is still supported by the ignorant but then again I've heard ignorance is bliss.

I love that we can now think about not 1 but 2 max deals in 2010 ! Now if we can get rid of Curry and his contract (which I have full confidence will get done), well have close to 50 mill to spend plus the MLE ( I think). That's 2 max deals, a 10 mill a year deal and the 5 mill MLE !!!! Wow I think I'm hyperventalating !

Lol @ sec 11.

DaJoka are you serious. This year you have been more down on Marbury than me, at least I was saying he should be the 4th guard off the bench. Can't believe you would support him on this point especially since you have been 100% behind Mike D and Walsh (yes no homo) to this point (ok except the waiving of Ewing).

Marbury has a right not to play. Based on what? And why is an NBA employee different than a regular employee who has a contract? If an NBA player refuses to play (i.e Mourning sitting out in Toronto) why does that team not have a right to dock his pay and/or terminate his contract. I'll admit I am not fully familiar with all the terms of the CBA but basic contractual principles say that both sides are bound to perform their specific tasks. If they don't not only can the other side recoup the money owed but they can sue for damages. At least Mourning had the excuse of being hurt, yesterday Marbury essentially said nope not playing.

But ok if you don't like that example I'll use other sports; in baseball or football if an athlete holds out they are fined per day by the team and told to stay home. If a track athlete does not show up to a meet they are not paid their appearance fee. Only in the NBA can someone refuse to play and still be paid in full. It makes no sense. Do I agree with the way they have embarrased Marbury thus far, no, but last night really pissed me off. We had 7 guys, Jamal is gone, and Mike D said you'll get 35 minutes. You are playing for a contract next year Yet, he watched his team struggle, and I'll admit I wasn't in the cheese state but I don't remember seeing Marbury be that supportive on TV. Last night he quit on his team again and did nothing but justify Walsh and D'Antoni not playing him. Walsh has handled the Marbury situation poorly to this point, but last night was all on Marbury. He could have repaired his tarnished image, instead he reinforced all the negative things people feel about him.

Oh and no way does Steph and Tim Thomas play one minute together ever again. Thomas threw Marbury and the Knicks under the bus to Peter V at the Post when he got traded. I routinely cheered against him after that but you know what, he was absolutely right about everything he said. Marbury might be a good person, maybe a great father, but he has sucked on and off the court as a Knick. Forgetting about last night I know me, you, and Lives will all agree on that.

@Harlem in MD: You don't seriously think we would have been a better team with M. Jackson than D'Antoni. I hate the way they have handled the situation but D'Antoni is a brillant coach and maybe one of three coachs that could get this roster to 35 wins. And this is personal, Marbury quit on D'Antoni in PHX and Marbury's own teamates didn't want him to play. If D'Antoni came in and played him he would have lost this team just like IT did.

The fact that we are even talking about Steph as opposed to the very bright future we now have (if we can get someone in here who knows how to draft) just shows how bad Walsh screwed up not waiving Marbury over the summer.

And what the F#@k is wrong with Jerome James now why he can't play other than the fact that he is entirely made of crispy creme dough.

@Mike M

You decline a request....
You refuse a order....

D'anPhony requested his services; Marbury declined
D'anPhony did not order him to play and Marbury said no, thus there was no refusal

Their IS a difference; it is NOT the same thing bruh...this type of word game is played everyday in court rooms across the United States of America

Walsh should stay patient, they paying for the goods anyway you look at it. It's a long season, all it takes is "ONE" guard to go down with injuries of any contender from now to the trading deadline for this whole Marbury mess to be another brilliant move by Walsh again.

Patience ... we ain't going nowhere anytime soon. There is nothing to lose here except for Pat Jr. unfortunately, but that's the breaks.

@Lives....

Bravo...amazing narrative.. that is some great mythology...quite the Knick's fairytale.

Like most myths, it certainly had it's fair share of basis in some facts...but also like most myths, in left out others, and you simply made alot of it up, with your imagination, and you were very good to use some colorful emotional rhetoric..

Viola! ...you've got a New Testament Gospel story with Starbury as the poor Crucified Savior. If only he came to NYC on a donkey...the parallel would be complete...

You outta start a new religion with that schtik.

Here is something you left out.

Steph LEFT the team in a HUFF last year when he found out he wasn't gonna be a STARTER for ONE GAME...completely FREAKED OUT...went crying home to the only one who understands HIM...BERMAN. Then he came back to the team, and instead of coming off the bench, he was made an INSTANT starter again, so his little head and ego wouldn't EXPLODE all over the other players.

This year he knows he's cooked...he sees the Duhon trade...he comes to camp...and what does he say when asked?

"Duhhh...I'm a starter..always have been, always will be...I think that's in my contract or the NBA rulebook...don't know for certain...cause I can't read"

So...coacj is faced with the DYNAMIC of having a well known PYSCHO come off the bench and play a ROLE... and that is weighed by the new coach...who already KNOWS the pyscho well...and a DECISION is made...and explained to Steph in a few single syllable words...

Now then, I have to laugh at the part of your myth, where the poor professional athelete, being paid 21 million a year to dribble around, is given major gold stars , for ACTUALLY coming to his job, in REASONABLY good shape for a change! Holy CRAP! Who woulda ever thought that! Steve Nash? No...Jason Kid? No...no...no...those lame ass, old point guards, who couldn't hold Starbury's jock, show up fat, lazy, winded, with a chip on their shoulder, and start checkin' out if the team has hired any hot new interns....

I guess on the Knicks, the bar has been set so incredibly low, that as long as you don't show up DRUNK to camp or practice (*cough Jerome James*) you are still a wonderful player and a paycheck. Imagine!

Marbury is a more tragic character than anyone Shakespeare ever invented. Thank god we are getting close to the final act of this play.

hey first time poster but have read Alans stuff for a while (great job alan most up to date knicks blog there is). yesterday was the best day in knicks history since larrys 4 point play. The only question i have is for all the dantoni haters is do you hate him because hes white? cuz it sure sounds like it reading these posts. He has done nothing but great things since coming here. And for all of the marbury fans, do u guys like winning 23 games a year? He is a cancer, why do you think he doesnt get along with the WHOLE team? What about Phx, Jersey, and Minn? why did they get better when he left? What about when he quit on his team last year and then refused to play las night, idk bout u guys but i would get fired of i tired to pull that garbage...... and did i mention hes hasnt been good in 3 years

@Sec11Rowh

"25% of americans still think george bush has done a good job.

45% of americans believe sarah palin is qualified to be president.

5% of fixers support stephon marbury no matter what he does.

thus fixers are 5 to 9 times less moronic than the average american."

LMAO!!!

That has got to be the funniest thing I've ever read on this blog!

Bravo...lifetime achievement award for that brilliant post!

He asked with property authority which is the same thing as a demand. Try a dictionary sometime.

go knicks.

look, i really wanted steph to work out. i've got lincoln high school roots and have rooted for him since he was a kid. but the fact is that for some crazy reason (possible emphasis on the crazy), it just has not. steph had four years to show consistency as our main guy. it hasn't worked.

time to move on, folks. @harlem-- 35-40 win purgatory is not enough.

go d'ant for the clean break and a new-look knick excitement. who cares about the details of last night. stick with the rebuild. let's see a new team.

kandiman is a racist redneck

we'll let Drossman deal with you and smack you around again like a ragdoll

on that note i'm not a steff fan at all, i think his days are done and he should go to europe ASAP, but i still think he was damn right for what he did. No-d'antoni has sh*tted on him all yr and hasn't even looked his way...NOW u wanna play him b/c you are desperate...GTFOH !! it don't wanna say its a blk or white thing but most young blk dudes from the street are 'hardheaded' & sometimes u gotta know how to treat these certain individuals like a man and be straight up with them. ESPECIALLY a street dude like steff who knows this is his city and all his pplz and family are here seeing this mess go down. he can't afford to look like he's gettin played out by these two 'white' newcomers callin' tha shots, regulatin' left n right...(even though they must)..no-D'antoni N walsh just HAD to see this coming. they all should know steff won't allow himself to be played out like that. they created this situation IMO and allowed it to brun out of control.

Lets not turn this racial.. Nba is like 80 percent black.. Lets not even go there.. and Im black.. Coach D and Walsh and racist.. Skin tone dnt got nothing to do with this situation.

So, the results of an informal poll are trickling in. Believe it or not the FIX is almost evenly split on the issue of 1) whether it was understandable that Steph refused D’Antoni’s offer for playing time or 2) Marbury was wrong to refuse D’Antoni’s request that Steph play.

Just about even. Roll Call vote:

Marbury Has A Right To Refuse To Play/I understand why he would refuse

Gee The Steph Fan
DaJoka
DaGawd
Romeo
TwoNuse
Kandiman
Jimmy
BigTyme (Agreed)
HarlemMD
Tha Prowler

Marbury Was Wrong To Refuse To Play
(** identifies those who claim Marbury violated his contract)
Nostra-Dan-Us
Dawn
Dave the Rave **
JC**
Marbury’s Agent**
Biggie Smalls
Bulljive**
Sanjeev**
Flarby
Mike M.**

@Prowler...

LMAO...can you maybe get a good rap song out of that for the rest of 'brothers' to get down with bro?

Few minor corrections dude...

Donnie Walsj was born and playing ball in this city before Steph's parents were gettin jiggy.

D'Antoni was drainin jumpshots, while Steph was squirtin in his diaper...

This is THEIR team now...not Steph's team...like it was under Zeke the fool.

The only Steph has any 'peeps' is cause he picks up the tab at the Coney Island hotdog stand

Anytime Steph doesn't want to look bad...like he's gettin' 'played' by big bad whitey...he should QUIT and go try and make 21 mil on the street, with all the other 'brothers' in Brooklyn.

Now...in the meantime, a lot of us just voted an incredibly intelligent, hard working, eloquent black man, who will soon be our President....hopefully he doesn't feel the need to act like a make-believe GANGSTA, the first time some foreign leader dis'es him in front of his peeps and he's forced to work under pressure.

Hopefully he would also get some hilarious god awful tatoo branded on his head. "Change B Good!"

Moral of the story? Stop acting like a ignorant, uneducated make believe Gangsta (I mean good, born again, Christian, black gangsta)...and people might respect you no matter what color your skin is.

Anyone that is defending Marbury has no class, no smarts and can only wonder if their support for him is racially motivated, which I don't understand because their are so many athletes of every race that embody what being a professional is and after last night Marbury truly demonstrated he has no idea and never will understand what being a professional is.

BTW peeps...

D'Antoni wasn't 'desperate' last night...D'Antoni isn't getting graded on how well his team plays with 7 or 8 players and their 2 high scorers gone in a MEANINGLESS game...

...he was doing Steph a FAVOR...asking him if he wanted 35 minutes of BURN...to maybe SHOW something...to SOMEONE...anyone...who might ever take a chance on PAYING this pyscho to play ball in this Continent again.

You know what's really going to be hard for Steph?...learning to speak Italian...based on the fact he never learned his own native tongue.

Maybe he can work with Kobe over the summer...

@ marbury's agent

i don't give a damn where donni walsh was born. treat a man like a man. No-D'antoni and him deserve this media mess they're in right now w/ steff. they could've avoided it from jump street but they wanna be the big bad wolves coming in callin' all the shots and making the guy look like an idiot sitting there.

half my post got cut off for some reason but i could care less what u think of me ..everybody is different. i am not gangsta, nor am i a house nukka. TREAT A MAN LIKE A MAN !! esp when you TWO are supposed to be the PROFESSIONALS in the organization.

and you say u R a brotha. well US brothas laugh at cats like you who allow 'tha man' to walk and sh*T all over you like they been doing for generations and treat u like a little boy. u must not have no kind of self respect. if he don't stand up for himself who will ??

and again i am no fan of steff but sometimes yo, enuff is enuff. u can't tell me those 2 men didn't have an agenda from the start. we all know steff is a cancer and malcontent, but them 2 cats donnie & no-D'antoni are makin' sh*t waaay worse...it didn't need to get to this point.....BROTHER !!

Lots of little points.
(Warning: if you don’t like Long Ass Posts (LAPS), just scroll beyond)

O.K., so let’s get the hard part out of the way first. For anyone upset that we are discussing the Marbury situation in this particular post, please be advised that the title of the blog post written by Alan Hahn is “Marbury refused to play; D’Antoni Furious.” Therefore, despite or because of yesterday, Marbury is the main topic here, which supports my major point about this being an unnecessary distraction which should have been properly handled earlier in the year.

Second, and this is hard for a select few to comprehend through their narrow-minded emotionalism. Not everyone who understands why Marbury refused the offer of playing time is a Marbury fan. No matter how wrong Marbury has been, Dolan, Walsh and D’Antoni have also handled this matter poorly. So poorly that Marbury will not be found in breach of his contract and he is still getting paid to do nothing more than be an attractive (all dressed up) nuisance. It’s not about Marbury, it’s about many fans’ unwillingness to admit that your new management is screwing up.

Similarly, those who think people who don’t treat Marbury like Hitler, Damien, Kudjo or as someone called him “human waste” because he is black. Welcome to the Pat Roberts school of thought. He who claimed that Colin Powell could only support a black man because he is black, not because of well reasoned positions. But of course the whites who supported the black man were far less emotional and more intelligent in breaking from a decision on race. Yes, thank you for that ignorant position that has landed this country into the horrific dilemma it is in now.

Let’s go for something a little easier. All of you who claim that Marbury must perform if asked are flat out, dead wrong. Now if you are right and I am wrong, you will see Marbury successfully disciplined by the team in accordance with his contract. In the next couple of days, if you are right, Marbury will pay for that breach of contract. Let’s see how that works out, all of you who claim there is a contract breach.

Now what about that distinction between request and demand? What did D’Antoni actually do or say? Was it a demand or a request. Here is part of the quote from D’Antoni:

D'Antoni added that once Crawford was traded, he told Marbury, "There are 30, 35 minutes out there and they are yours if you want them.
O.K. legal brain trust show me how that is a demand which is a breach of contract, please. It was barely a request; it was a very refusable offer.

Everything revolves around Marbury because management allows it to revolve around Marbury. The Crawford trade was put on hold until the Knicks were sure they could get a guard, just about any guard is how I would describe Cuttino, to make sure Steph does not get a chance to play.

@Ray, Congratulations to all of those who believe yesterday was the greatest day in Knick history or close to it. Yesterday certainly favored the “Scorched