Because Everyone Loves Insight into Marbury Drama

“I want you guys to know I’m sorry,” Stephon Marbury said, “for everything you’ve had to go through the past couple days.”

The players turned to look at Marbury, waiting to hear if the Knicks’ prodigal point guard had anything to add. Over the previous 48 hours, Marbury had threatened to “bury” his coach; left the team in Phoenix to fly home to New York; reportedly incurred a team-issued fine worth just under $200,000; and, finally, jetted back across the country to Los Angeles to rejoin his teammates.

Marbury, however, stayed quiet. He hadn’t even bothered to stand up to issue his brief apology.

This is what the Knicks had come to expect from their $20 million star. The size of the gesture didn’t matter as much as its lack of sincerity.

And that’s why, less than 24 hours earlier, when Isiah Thomas dispatched Jamal Crawford to find out how the players would react if and when Marbury rejoined the team, all of them voted against allowing him to play. Thomas, according to one person who spoke with Crawford, had pledged to hold out Marbury if even a single Knick didn’t want him on the court.

So how did Thomas react to the team’s unanimous vote?

He sat Marbury until late in the first quarter then played him nearly 34 of the game’s remaining 39 minutes.

from Yahoo! Sports