Sports

Marbury's Days in New York Appear To Be Numbered

by Jon Azpiri | September 23, 2008 at 01:51 pm

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NBA point guard Stephon Marbury will likely be leaving his hometown New York Knicks in the very near future.

The troubled star, who has played for four teams in his NBA career, has long dreamed of playing for the Knicks, but that dream fell apart after five tumultuous seasons that included losing records, injuries, and an ugly sexual harassment case against former Knicks GM and coach Isiah Thomas. During the case, one witness claimed that Marbury had forced a Knicks intern to have sex with him. The intern later claimed that the sex was consensual.

Off the court, Marbury has demonstrated increasingly erratic behaviour. Last season, he gave a bizarre interview to a New York TV station. His rambling performance earned him comparisons to Tracy Jordan, the combustible and completely unhinged character from the Emmy-winning sitcom 30 Rock.

If I had to compare Steph’s performance to another person, it would be Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock. Not Tracy Morgan, the actor who plays him. He’s too sane. I’m talking about the stabbing robot himself, the character on the show. Steph is out of his mind. The surly Marbury was nowhere to be seen.

The surly Marbury returned last season when he walked out on his team just prior to a game against the Phoenix Suns due to a disagreement with then-coach Thomas. On top of that he suffered an ankle injury that left him on the sideline for much of the season.

After all the drama, the Knicks appear ready to buy out Marbury's $20.8 million contract just to be rid of him. Considering his toxic past, it seems that his NBA career may be over. Even Marbury has talked about leaving the NBA and ending his career in Italy. Still, there is talk that Starbury might end up with the Miami Heat, who are in desperate need of a point guard. He might even end up in with the Los Angeles Lakers.