Stephon Marbury Is A Free Man

[shuges]

Stephon Marbury and the Knicks reached an agreement today on a buyout settlement during an arbitration hearing over the point guard's $400,000 fine, according to an NBA source.

Marbury was waived hours after meeting with team president Donnie Walsh today at a Midtown law firm.

Marbury left the Times Square offices skipping across the street in glee, posing for a Post photographer before heading off.

Marbury did not comment to a handful of reporters.

"A comprehensive agreement was made this afternoon between the New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury," the Knicks said in a statement. "Under its terms, the grievance has been resolved and the Knicks have requested waivers on Stephon. No additional terms will be disclosed."

Marbury, 32 last Friday, is expected to sign with the Celtics. He told The Post last month he has a verbal commitment from Boston.

Marbury has been banished from the Knicks since Dec. 1, days after refusing Mike D'Antoni's offer to be his starting shooting guard during a meeting in Detroit on Thanksgiving Eve.

Marbury is the last Knick from their last playoff team in 2003-04, but his hometown stint was an abject failure after the initial burst he gave the team after a Jan. 5, 2004 trade from Phoenix.

Marbury will be remembered more for his feuds with Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas and D'Antoni than what he did on the court. Fearful of Marbury's past, D'Antoni came out of preseason and decided he did not want him as part of the program.

D'Antoni turned to Marbury on Thanksgiving Eve after Jamal Crawford got traded and Cuttino Mobley failed his physical and needed to retire.

D'Antoni skipped practice to testify at today's hearing. The Post reported Monday the sides would try to avoid the hearing over Marbury's refusal to play and work out a settlement. Walsh denied the story.

Monday, Walsh said he'd prefer Marbury does not sign with a playoff-bound team. The Knicks could face the Celtics in the first round if Boston is the top seed and the Knicks are the eighth.

"Those are things you have to put in your head when you're thinking about it," Walsh said Monday. "It's all part of the general picture because it could impact on you. It's a competitiveness issue."

Before the hearing, Walsh said, "I won't be contentious. I don't have those kind of feelings in this situation at all. It's more contentious here than anywhere else."


[img]http://www.nypost.com/seven/02242009/photos/steph224.jpg[/img]
A gleeful Stephon Marbury and the Knicks reached a buyout agreement today, and the team could waive the guard as soon as tonight.

 

[spyda23]

Bout time.

 

[youngtriz]

come and play with the heat..... we need a better back up pg then quinn

 

[mister friendly]

Scr3w Marbury!

 

[phillypg1]

Originally Posted by YoungTriz

come and play with the heat..... we need a better back up pg then quinn

"What cuz??"






Nah but i know Steph can still ball

 

[koolkatz]

$+*# marbury hes a ##!% anyways

 

[bangdak]

finaaaallly.

 

[T0INE]

So he's going to the Celtics now right?

 

[melovp]

congrats, hope he does well.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

'Bout time.

 

[JD617]

[h2]Sources: Marbury may head to Boston[/h2]
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By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Archive

The New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury were nearing a buyout agreement Tuesday afternoon that would clear the way for Marbury to sign with the Boston Celtics, according to sources close to the situation.

Marbury

Sources briefed on the state of the talks told ESPN.com that the Knicks and Marbury are on the verge of finalizing a separation package that will make Marbury eligible to play in the playoffs for another team because his release from New York would come before the league's Sunday deadline.

The New York Times first reported on its Web site Tuesday afternoon that "all indications were that the two sides had reached agreement on a contract buyout that will free [Marbury] to join another franchise for the stretch run."

Said one source to ESPN.com: "Look for Steph to get bought out today."

Another source close to the process indicated that Marbury and the Celtics have already commenced discussions on a contract.

It's believed that Marbury will be forfeiting in excess of $2 million from his $20.8 million salary this season, which would net the Knicks twice that much because of the luxury-tax savings involved.

Marbury would then be in position to recoup roughly half of what he's surrendering in his buyout from the Celtics. As ESPN.com reported Jan. 1, Boston has been hoping to sign the wayward point guard to bolster its thin bench if Marbury -- who turned 32 last week -- could manage to extricate himself from the Knicks

Marbury hasn't played in an NBA regular-season game since Jan. 11 of last season, but the Celtics have been concerned about their depth all season after the offseason departures of James Posey and P.J. Brown. Boston has since lost star forward Kevin Garnett to a knee injury for the next two to three weeks and reserve swingman Tony Allen to a thumb injury expected to sideline him for eight weeks.

Earlier Tuesday, Boston signed center Mikki Moore, who was waived by Sacramento after last Thursday's trading deadline. The Celtics opened two roster spots last week by trading away veteran guard Sam Cassell and little-used center Patrick O'Bryant.

Last week, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported that multiple Celtics players had recently reached out to Marbury, urging him to forfeit some salary in his long-contentious negotiations with the Knicks to prove to skeptics that he could make an impact with a championship-caliber team.

Other contending teams such as Dallas and Miami are expected to at least inquire about Marbury's availability, but the widespread belief among NBA executives is that Marbury is Boston-bound now that he will be waived by Sunday's deadline. Had the buyout talks stretched past March 1, Marbury would not be eligible to appear in the playoffs for any other team.

"It sounds like it's pretty much locked and loaded," one rival team official said Tuesday of Marbury joining the Celtics and reuniting with his former Minnesota teammate Garnett.

The Times reported that Tuesday's hearing in Manhattan, stemming from a grievance Marbury filed in an attempt to regain more than $400,000 in docked salary from the Knicks, was apparently brief and quickly moved into buyout negotiations.

Buyout talks had been stalled for some three months since Marbury stormed out of a Dec. 1 negotiating session after just 15 minutes.

Participants in Tuesday's hearing -- the first face-to-face talks between the sides since the early December meeting -- included Marbury and NBA Players Association lawyer Hal Biagas as well Knicks president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D'Antoni.

It was initially assumed that Garnett would resist a reunion with the controversial point guard after Marbury broke up their Minnesota partnership following less than three seasons together by forcing a trade to New Jersey. But after the January report about Boston's and Marbury's mutual interest, Garnett and Marbury both spoke publicly about their willingness to play together again.

Earlier this month, Boston's Ray Allen told ESPN.com that the defending champions would have little trouble integrating Marbury into their locker room in spite of Marbury's reputation for causing chemistry problems.

"The great thing about this locker room is that Doc [Rivers] can coach," Allen said. "The coaches can coach. They don't have to manage this team. The [veteran] players do a great job making sure that we are all prepared to play every day and we keep whatever grumblings down."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3931801



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3931801

 

[jepeh21]

sign with the Lakers!

 

[cadillacflow]

Interesting....

 

[harlemtothebronx]

http://www.youtube.com/v/zWxgbyYrT5A&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1

 

[jepeh21]

double post

 

[tmoney85]

if he goes to the celtics, then congrats to them for trying hard to win again, unlike my damn lakers who seem to think they are so much better then last yearthat they dont need to pursue a tough big man

c'mon buss family, stop being so damn cheap.

 

[dlo13]

http://www.youtube.com/v/5wDi2MDgc8o&hl=en&fs=1

 

[damnitzvin]

my boy

 

[Los Angeles]

hes forsure gonna go to the celtics.

 

[scuse7]

Come on Danny!

 

[the gr8]

Peace Stephon

I respect this dude and wish him the best wherever he goes. Hes still got a place in my heart for what he brought back in the day and it pains me to know thathe had all that talent and it was really us who #*+**# with him and his game/mentality more than vise versa.

And IMO ANY team should jump on getting this dude ASAP cause if you do you get a hungry HUNGRY player, who has probably lost a step but is still a formersuperstar and probably more skilled than 50% of starting NBA PGs today.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

Originally Posted by THE GR8

it was really us who #*+**# with him and his game/mentality more than vise versa.

...

Nevermind.

 

[MVP]

So he's going to the Celtics....they get Moore and Starbury

 

[highrep87]

finally

 

[pr0phecy718]

its shame that it didn't work out with the knicks, his child hood dream

I remember being hyped as hell when he got traded to NY 5 years ago...I thought great things would be happening...

I still got that e-mail from 5 years ago

KNICKS ACQUIRE MARBURY, HARDAWAY & TRYBANSKI FROM PHOENIXEisley, Lampe, McDyess, Ward Traded To The Suns-----NEW YORK, January 5, 2004 - New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas announced today that two-time NBA All-Star guard Stephon Marbury, four-time NBA All-Star guard/forward Anfernee Hardaway and center Cezary Trybanski have been acquired from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for guards Howard Eisley and Charlie Ward, forwards Antonio McDyess and Maciej Lampe, the draft rights to Milos Vujanic, a first-round draft choice in 2004 and a future first-round draft choice.Marbury, 6-2, 180-pounds, was averaging 20.8 points (ranked 12th in NBA) and 8.3 assists (second in NBA) in 34 starts for the Phoenix Suns this season. The seven-year NBA veteran had scored at least 30 points in six games, including a season-high 40 on Dec. 29 at the L.A. Clippers and has 10 point-assist double-doubles on the season. The 26-year-old Brooklyn-native is a two-time NBA All-Star and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team in 2000 and 2003."Our ultimate goal is to win an NBA Championship, and with the addition of all three players, we feel we have taken a major step towards achieving that goal." Thomas said. "All three players are young seasoned veterans that can help us win now and, combined with our existing players, give us a solid foundation for the future."

well good luck to Marbury