Money For Nothin' and Tickets For Free...Full Price

Marbury Pays To Watch Knicks in LA

Let me preface all that is to follow by saying that I do think Stephon Marbury is a pair of pants that never came with an Inspected By.. sticker and needs to be removed from the Knicks roster.

Stephon Marbury who has been banished by the Knicks - meaning that he is barred from attending practices or games as a member of the team - turned up courtside in Los Angeles last night as the Knicks took on the Lakers. He bought his own ticket for the game. And, I thought it was a shrewd and funny move. In fact, I am totally for him showing up at last night's @Lakers game in plainclothes and buying a ticket along celebrity row (near the Lakers Girls) at the Staples Center. Good for him. Marbury, who has been out on the Left Coast working out and getting himself into shape for his eventual acquisition by another team, has fallen from the back pages since Plaxico shot himself in the leg and both football teams went into parallel tailspins.

When Plax shot himself he didn't only derail the Giants run to the Super Bowl. He also derailed the buyout process for Steph. With unlicensed firearms far more alluring then any team's "new direction" or healthy but unwanted players, the buyout drama was lost deep inside the tabloids. The Knicks banished Steph, Plax forever changed a well-worn metaphor and all of sudden no one was clamoring for a resolution. Marbury was out of sight and out of mind.

Well, that's not fair and not helpful for anyone involved. We need to get this buyout done. Steph needs to be allowed to play elsewhere and the Knicks need to be allowed to turn the page. Frustratingly, the Knicks are dragging their feet and haggling over money when they have already ceded the high ground. Which is a near impossible thing to do when you're fighting a land war against Starbury. I believe Vizini said that. But the Knicks managed to pull it off. Which is nice.

Looking back, it's clear that Walsh and D'Antoni (and Dolan) should have cut their ties with him before training camp opened. Because since then he's done everything right and made them look like reactionary hacks. And to top it off, they decided to add "cheap" to the list of adjectives used to describe them. Marbury was willing to hand back $1 million if they bought him out but the club balked. They said that he needed to hand back $3 million. And, for what? For being healthy and eager and not shot? They want him gone so they need to eat the money. He showed on Opening Night ready to play and they decided that they weren't going to play him. Ever. This is actually fairly simple.

And, still the Knicks did their best to ignore this fact. They want to make it shady and complicated. Last night the MSG network
never even sent anyone over to interview Marbury (on the radio Gus Johnson did relay bits of his pregame conversation with Steph). MSG showed images of the scrum of reporters (featuring a very Grimace-like Marc Berman) around Marbury during hafltime but didn't think it was important enough to get one of their guys/gals over their to ask a question or get a soundbite.

My desire for this to be over soonest rather than later is not based in any deep-seated sympathy for the Coney Island product. I don't feel great about him getting all of this money for nothing while most people I know are struggling. But the contract is signed and he didn't draw it up. So, I just want the Knicks to free up that roster spot, which seems destined for Patrick Ewing Jr. (presuming that Mobley's spot goes to a shooting guard). Although I do enjoy D'Antoni's Seven Players Or Less philosophy I would like to get some more live bodies on the bench. If the team is going to stay close to .500 through the winter then they're going to need bodies warmer than Anthony Roberson and Jerome James.

Until this buyout gets done I hope that Steph just keeps showing up at every road game. Maybe that will force the hand that feeds him to send him packing. We know Steph can afford the tickets.