Point Break

by, Greg Hutchins

With the Starbury Saga reaching its closing act, news of the controversial point guard's indefinite suspension comes as no surprise. Donnie Walsh's decision to banish Stephon Marbury from the sidelines was a necessary move, albeit several weeks late. Marbury and his union attorney have pressed for a buyout of the $21.9MM he's owed, yet Walsh and Marbury have failed to reach a fair and equitable agreement. Reportedly, the two sides are $3MM apart from a settlement.

To Marbury's credit, he had a highly productive and drama-free training camp/preseason. His willingness to come off the bench for Chris Duhon despite heading into a contract year was viewed as a sign of concession and maturation. Then, unbenounced to most members of the organization, Mike D'Antoni pulled the plug on Starbury at the start of the regular season. D'Antoni's issues with Marbury in 2003 (as interim Suns head coach) led the new Knicks head man to dismiss the pride of Coney Island for a second time. In a recent interview with Marc Berman of the New York Post, Marbury was quoted as saying: "Mike had no intentions of me playing basketball here. He put in Gallinari, whose back is messed up and didn't participate at all in training camp ahead of me. He was sticking it to me."

Mike D'Antoni has been a breath of fresh air for a Knicks organization that has been mired in a fog of porous play since 2002. Although they are undermanned and undersized nightly, D'Antoni's team has shown they are committed to playing a better brand of basketball and should eclipse last season's win total. Surely having Marbury on the floor would help a depleted team, but the rift between player and coach is miles apart.

Regardless of how D'Antoni approached Marbury about the option to play following Walsh's cap-clearing trades, the notion that the head coach would reverse field on his decision was baffling. Granted the team is shorthanded, but did he truly expect Marbury to agree to a 35 minute cameo performance after riding the pine and sitting out practice all season? D'Antoni's subsequent starting shooting guard offer for the rest of the season was clearly made out of desperation given the questions around Cuttino Mobley's heart condition and an ailing backcourt. While I've never been much of a Marbury apologist, I tend to side with the player in this case. Walsh's assertion that a player "should render professional services when called upon" is valid, but placing an All-Star caliber athlete on the inactive list because you don't particularly care for him is pure tomfoolery.

At this stage of the season, Walsh must waive Marbury for the sake of the team. With one-third of the roster out injured since the start of the year (including a lottery pick dubbed the European LeBron James by several pre-draft scouting websites), Walsh has to create a roster spot to import a healthy body.

Rumors have circulated that team owner James Dolan has instructed Walsh to refrain from offering Marbury a buyout until January for accounting purposes. While Cablevision shareholders would be happy with that decision, Knicks fans will have little to smile about other than thoughts of King James sporting a blue and orange # 23 jersey in 2010. One can only hope that Marbury's departure will signal a resurgence for the franchise as it did for the New Jersey Nets and Phoenix Suns respectively.

Greg Hutchins is the Senior Columnist for The Garden Grasp. Questions or comments about the article may be e-mailed to gardengrasp@gmail.com