The Stephon Saga

The New York Knicks were supposed to be terrible this year, and the Stephon Marbury situation is supposed to be a terrible distraction. But, the Knicks are 6-3.

The ex-NBA players on TV think Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni are being unfair to poor Stephon Marbury. They think that the Knicks should give him his $22-million and allow him to make another million dollars plus with another team this year.

Marbury, apparently, believes he "earned that money" and will not take a penny less.

I have several issues with the situation.

1) It shows the total ineptitude of some General Managers who offer players like Marbury long term deals for 20+ million dollars. If you are spending that kind of money on a player, he should be a guy who can deliver a championship: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard. I'm inclined to stop there. I might add Amare Stoudemire. I would not spend 20-million plus on Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas or some of the other "super" stars in the NBA.

2) Obviously, NBA players are going to support NBA players. It's a little club. They belong to the same union. But, every report indicates that the Knick players did not want Marbury back. D'Antoni is not punishing Marbury for no reason. He listened to the players. He watched the tape from last season. And, he realized that to move forward, Marbury had to go.

3) Walsh is not being unfair to Marbury. Marbury has effectively made every team worse. When New Jersey traded him to Phoenix, suddenly New Jersey went to the NBA Finals. When Phoenix disgarded Marbury - a trade that most people crticized Phoenix for making - Phoenix ascended into the Western Conference Finals. Even the Knicks are above .500 just by not playing him.

How has Marbury earned that money? There is a difference between duping a General Manager into giving you the contract and actually earning the money. These CEOs who get astronomical salaries and buyouts do not earn their money; they trick companies into giving them ridiculously high salaries and incentives, which is one reason are financial markets collapsed. But, all the people in the industry play the same game and the perks escalate and escalate until the entire country is in a recession.

Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. They earned their money. The CEO of Lehman Bros did not earn his money.

Marbury benefitted from some General Managers poor decision-making skills and inability to account for more than points per game. However, that does not mean Marbury "earned" the money. He is entitled to the money because he signed the contract. It is not his fault that the GM did not know what he was doing. You cannot punish the player for management ineptitude.

But, as it stands, Marbury IS getting his money. He has a contract and the Knicks are honoring the contract. Nobody is guaranteed playing time. If the Knicks feel they are a better team without playing Marbury, they have every right not to play him.

If Marbury feels that is unfair, he has every right to ask for his release. However, just as Marbury "earned" the right to his money, the Knicks "earned" the right to use him as they see fit. If Marbury wants to leave, the two sides can come to a mutually beneficial agreement and Marbury can become a free agent, just like Antonio McDyess and the Denver Nuggets.

I hope the Knicks do not give in. I dislike it when multi-millionaires can whine and complain to the point where they get their money and their release so they can make more money.

If I was Walsh, I would offer Marbury the full amount if he agreed to a stipulation prohibiting him from playing in the NBA for the rest of the year. Let him play in Europe if he wants. Or, let him practice with his high school alma mater and collect his paychecks.

But, if he earned his money, he also earned the right to sit on the bench because, regardless of his stats, he has not made any franchise better with his presence or performance on the floor.

He has a choice: "earn" his money by not playing or accept mush less to go play elsewhere. McDyess took half his contract not to go to Denver. I hope New York does not give Marbury over $10 million to go and play elsewhere.