What exactly, does it mean for the New York Knicks to suspend Stephon Marbury for one game, given that he’s not played one minute of the ’08’-’09 season? ESPN’s Chris Sheridan writes the move will save the club a whopping $189,460 from Marbury’s nearly $21 million annual salary, but the truculent PG insists he’s being set up, saying of head coach Mike D’Antoni, “I wouldn’t trust him to walk my dog across the street.” From the New York Post’s Marc Berman :
“If you say I gotta play, I’m going to play,” Marbury said. “If he said I have to play, guess what, I’m going to get on the court and play, period. If I refuse to play, I’m getting suspended. I never told him I’m not going to play. Those words never came out of my mouth. That’s insubordination.”
“I didn’t create this,” Marbury said. “I’m sitting inside the car. I’m not behind the wheel in the driver’s seat. I have no control of the wheel of the car, if we’re turning or going straight. I’m sitting in the backseat. He’s not going to play me because my heart isn’t in it, because the way he treated me. That’s on him, not me.”
Marbury also did not believe D’Antoni’s expressed intention of starting him the rest of the season was sincere.
“They want to take my money,” Marbury said. “I’m not going to let them.”
Marbury is further bitter that, two days before the season opener, D’Antoni told Quentin Richardson, the team captain, that Marbury was not going to play versus Miami – but the coach didn’t tell Marbury.
According to Marbury, Richardson told his teammates the news. Marbury, who has not played this season, found out his status from a teammate, not from D’Antoni.
“Mike created this from the beginning,” Marbury said. “Why did he create this environment? I came here ready to play, focused, taking on the role I was ready to take on. They said, ‘We don”t want you.’ I’m not in the plans. I said, ‘OK, no problem.’ “