Starburst

When Knicks President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas acquired Stephon Marbury from the Phoenix Suns in January 2004, Marbury was heralded as the man who would once again make the Knicks relevant. Marbury, a basketball prodigy from Coney Island, returned home to great fanfare and irrationally high expectations. A backcourt of Marbury and shooting guard Allan Houston, Knicks fans were led to believe, was supposed to make the Knicks a perennial playoff threat, and perhaps, with a few minor additions, a championship-caliber team. Houston got hurt, and Marbury, with Thomas's full support, quickly became the face of a shockingly dysfunctional franchise.

In his first season in New York, Marbury led a mediocre team to the playoffs, where they were summarily dismantled in four games by Jason Kidd and the Nets, the eventual Eastern Conference champions. Things got progressively worse from there, to say the least. Amazingly, that 2004's first-round exit was, in retrospect, Marbury’s brightest moment as a Knick. In subsequent seasons, Marbury led the Knicks to 33, 23, 33 and 23 victories, respectively, and seemingly did his best to embarrass and hijack the franchise, alienating teammates, executives and, eventually, fans with a number of high-profile off-the-court incidents, including his role in the sexual harassment case against Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden, the subsidiary of Cablevision that owns the Knicks.

After Donnie Walsh named Mike D’Antoni head coach, D’Antoni, who dealt with Marbury—and his massive ego—in Phoenix, decided the team was better off without him and banished Marbury to the bench. Marbury’s days as a Knick were obviously numbered. It was only a matter of time until he was traded or released.

Yesterday’s buyout, then, should come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed the NBA this year. Marbury’s been finished with the Knicks for months. The buyout just made it official.

I have nothing bad—or good—to say about Marbury. My venom is reserved for Thomas, who, in my mind, is most responsible for running the organization into the ground. Marbury just rode shotgun. Although I’m relieved Marbury's no longer on the team, I’m not going to get worked up about his buyout one way or the other. He’s gone, just like Moochie Norris and Steve Francis before him. Let’s just leave it at that.