By Matt Valentine
Remember when the only thing the Knicks really had to worry about was how high the would be seeded in the playoffs. Yea the memory is probably a little foggy for most people, its been a while since the likes of Patrick Ewing or John Starks have graced the court of the worlds most famous arena.
These days the Knicks find themselves in the headlines more for their off the court dealings then their on the court play (which has been improving under new coach Mike Dantoni). As usual its Stephon Marbury whose grabbing all the headlines with the on going saga that’s been playing out for quite some time in the big apple.
Its a battle of wills between the Knicks front office and its once star player who cannot reach an amicable end to their relationship. The Knicks don’t want Marbury, Marbury refuses to play for the Knicks and yet there he is every night on the bench, sometimes in uniform, sometimes not, mostly just there doing a whole lot of nothing.
So when will this all end? The Knicks have been playing their last few games with just two men on the bench and just two healthy gaurds and when asked to go into the game Marbury has apparently refused.
The Knicks thought they had found a solution to their problem when they made a”blockbuster trade” that his been more bust then blockbuster. They acquired guard Cuttino Mobley from the Clippers in the Nov. 21 deal that sent Zach Randolph to L.A. only to discover that Mobley had a heart ailment that may end his career.
With Nate Robinson out with a groin injury the Knicks find themselves in the extremely undesirable postion of needing Marbury to play. Marbury won’t play, won’t accept a buyout package form the Knicks for his own freedom, but will sit there and collect his multi-million dollar paycheck.
Sounds like a pretty good job to me.