Marbury, Knicks agree on buyout

Feb 25, 2009 - 1:09 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The New York Knicks agreed to a buyout with enigmatic guard Stephon Marbury on Tuesday.

Neither Marbury nor team president Donnie Walsh commented on the specifics of the agreement but said that it encompassed the $400,000 grievance that the point guard had filed and will allow him to be available for contenders during the stretch run.

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

By gaining his release before March 1, Marbury will be eligible to be acquired by a contender. The Boston Celtics have been rumored to be interested, according to multiple reports.

Teams must wait for Marbury to pass through waivers, which takes 48 hours unless he is claimed.

Marbury also went before an arbitrator for the fine he incurred for insubordination in late November.

Joined by Hal Biagas, a lawyer for the players' union, Marbury was joined by Walsh, who represented the Knicks. Coach Mike D'Antoni also testified.

However, the New York Times said that the talks quickly moved away from the grievance and toward a buyout settlement. The newspaper said it was believed that Marbury was asked to waive his grievance and forfeit $2 million from his $20.8 million salary in order to be released.

New York has been asking Marbury to give back some of his salary since the seasons started. Marbury, however, has stated that he wants to honor his contract.

The point guard did offer to slice $1 million off what he was owed but then withdrew the offer. The Knicks then docked Marbury the aforementioned $400,000 for allegedly refusing to play on November 26, when the team was shorthanded after making two trades.

Marbury, 31, has not played this season and was banished by the Knicks on December 1 after the mercurial guard and Walsh failed to resolve their ongoing feud.

"It's not a great situation for anybody," said D'Antoni, who missed the team's practice to testify.

"I hate it for Steph. I hate it for the Knicks. I hate it for everybody. But it's just something we're doing and we'll deal with it and get it over with. There's a lot worse things in the world going on, so we'll just deal with the problem and do the best we can."

The crux of the situation was: the Knicks won't play him, and Marbury wants out.

Marbury said last month he has a verbal agreement to join the defending world champion Celtics, but that the Knicks would not agree on a buyout because they did not want him to win a championship.

The Celtics have not commented on the situation.

When asked if he would work out a buyout at the hearing Walsh responded: "No, no, no."

The ugly feud began when Marbury was benched by D'Antoni for the first three weeks of the season.

A lifelong Knicks fan, Marbury has been one of the central figures for a franchise that deteriorated under former coach Isiah Thomas into one the biggest laughingstocks in American professional sports.

In the summer of 2007, Marbury testified in court when former Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders filed an $11.6 million sexual harassment lawsuit against Thomas and Madison Square Garden.

During his testimony, Marbury admitted to making derogatory comments about Sanders while revealing that he had sex with an MSG intern in a truck outside a strip club in 2005.

Widely considered a selfish player, Marbury has failed to mesh with numerous star teammates throughout his career, including Kevin Garnett, Shawn Marion, Keith Van Horn, Allan Houston and Steve Francis.