|
NEW YORK - DISGRUNTLED point guard Stephon Marbury and the New York Knicks remained at loggerheads on Monday after a brief meeting with a players' union lawyer.
'It is not resolved,' Mr Hal Biagas of the NBA Players Association said.
'I'm not commenting. We need to try to keep this in-house. I'll keep you posted if things happen. We had a conversation.'
Mr Biagas met with Marbury and Knicks president Donnie Walsh, with the two sides thought to be seeking to negotiate a buyout of Marbury's contract.
He is due to earn some US$21 million (S$32 million) this season.
Marbury left the meeting after 15 minutes and sat in his Rolls Royce until Mr Biagas exited the building 20 minutes later.
Later in the day the Knicks said they had instructed the player to stay away from the team.
'After meeting with Stephon and his representative this afternoon, we have directed Stephon not to participate in practice or attend games until further notice,' Mr Walsh said in a statement released by the Knicks.
'We want to continue to meet with him to discuss a long-term resolution.' The meeting was the latest installment of a saga that has dragged on all season.
Marbury has claimed in published interviews that Mike D'Antoni, who took over as Knicks coach in May, never wanted him to play for the team this season.
'Mike had no intentions of me playing basketball here,' Marbury told the New York Post.
'He gave me straight disrespect. It was beyond disrespect. ...'
'He was sticking it to me.'
Marbury, who has not appeared in a game this season, reportedly has pleaded with the Knicks to release him.
However, the two-time All-Star appeared to hurt his cause when he refused to play in games against Milwaukee and Detroit, when the Knicks had just seven other available players.
Marbury, a Brooklyn native and lifelong Knicks fan, has been one of the central figures for a club that deteriorated under the leadership of Isiah Thomas.
The Knicks acquired Marbury in an eight-player deal with Phoenix in January of 2004, and he has had a tumultuous five years with the team.
Prior to his feud with D'Antoni, Marbury rowed with Thomas as well as with then-Knicks coach Larry Brown in 2005-06.
Despite his reputation as a selfish player, Marbury has been one of the league's top point guards in his 11-plus seasons.
He has averaged 19.7 points and 7.8 assists in 823 career games with the Knicks, Suns, Nets and Timberwolves. -- AFP
| 
