GREENBURGH, N.Y. — With his career in New York seemingly finished, Knicks guard Stephon Marbury lashed out at teammates and coach Mike D’Antoni a day before he was to meet with team president Donnie Walsh about a possible buyout, the New York Post reported in Monday’s edition.
Marbury and his representation from the players’ association planned to meet with Walsh after the Knicks’ workout at their practice facility, though it was not clear if there would be a resolution Monday.
Walsh suspended Marbury for Saturday’s game against Golden State because the Knicks said Marbury refused to play Wednesday night in a loss at Detroit. The Knicks also docked his pay, with the penalties costing Marbury nearly $400,000.
“I sat there for three weeks and didn’t say one word,” Marbury told The Post. “I didn’t hear one of my teammates say, `Why isn’t Stephon Marbury playing? This is a good system for him, even to play with the second unit and bring more firepower.’
“When things got bad and then worse, guys like Quentin Richardson say, `I don’t consider him a teammate. He let his teammates out to dry.’ He didn’t care I was his teammate when I was banished. They left me out for dead. It’s like we’re in a foxhole and I’m facing the other way. If I got shot in the head, at least you want to get shot by the enemy. I got shot in the head by my own guys in my foxhole. And they didn’t even give me an honorable death.”
Knicks players have grown tired of the repeated controversies caused by Marbury, especially because they’d like more focus on their improved play this season. New York (8-8) ended November at .500 or better for the first time since going 7-6 in 2004.
“I don’t know what to say to that, more than I’m sorry he feels that way and I don’t get the impression that we’ve done that,” forward David Lee said. “But moving forward, as I said, this has just got to get taken care of whenever it gets taken care of and we’ve just got to focus on winning. And buying into comments like that or responding to them does nothing more than take the focus off our team and winning.”
Richardson criticized Marbury after the game in Detroit, when the Knicks were forced to play short-handed after injuries and trades. He seemed amused when asked about Marbury’s comments after practice.
“He’s entitled to his opinion just like I am. And obviously I said what I said and he feels differently about that, and he’s entitled to that,” Richardson said. “The main thing we want to do is we want to play basketball and win games. These aren’t the things we want to come off the court and talk about.”
Marbury isn’t part of D’Antoni’s plans and has been on the inactive list most of the season. However, D’Antoni twice asked Marbury if he would play when the Knicks were undermanned.
“Mike had no intentions of me playing basketball here,” Marbury said. “He gave me straight disrespect. It was beyond disrespect. He put in (Danilo) Gallinari, whose back is messed up and (who) didn’t participate at all in training camp ahead of me (in the season opener). … That’s saying, `I’m letting you have it right now.’ He was sticking it to me.”
Marbury also blasted D’Antoni in another interview with the Post last week, saying he didn’t trust the coach. Asked about Marbury’s comments about playing time, D’Antoni said: “I hate that. Obviously he’s in a tough position and I don’t think anybody’s thrilled with where anybody is, but that’s not really true. Again, I’m sure he feels that way and I can understand.”
Walsh has said he’s opposed to buyouts and agreed that it’s difficult to trade Marbury because of his salary of approximately $21 million.
“He (D’Antoni) knew I was in my contract year and did everything they asked me to do. He’s not trying to help me. He’s trying to hurt me,” Marbury said.
Marbury agreed to suit up Nov. 21 in Milwaukee so the Knicks would have the league-mandated eight players in uniform, but declined D’Antoni’s offer before the game to take some available minutes.
D’Antoni and Walsh didn’t feel that was insubordination, but Walsh believed he had to act this time, when Marbury turned D’Antoni down after guards Nate Robinson and Cuttino Mobley were unavailable in the second game of a back-to-back.
“He suspended me without hearing both sides,” Marbury said. “That wasn’t fair. He took it upon himself to fine me without even speaking to me.”
The players’ association plans to file a grievance because Marbury insists he never refused to play.
“Mike gave the option to play,” he said. “He couldn’t come to me man to man and say, `You have to play.’ It was an option.”
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