On the eve of his arbitration hearing showdown with Stephon Marbury, Knicks president Donnie Walsh admitted to being wary of putting the banished point guard on the market because he might help out another playoff-bound team.
Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni will be in the same room today with Marbury for the first time in nearly three months. The hearing will take place at 11 a.m. at a midtown law firm to dispute the $400,000 fine levied when Marbury allegedly refused to play in Detroit on Thanksgiving Eve. D’Antoni will skip practice to testify against Marbury.
“It’s not a good situation for anybody,” D’Antoni said. “I hate it for everybody, but it’s just something we’re doing and we’ll deal with it and get it over with.”
It could turn into more than that. Marbury and Walsh likely will meet one-on-one after the formal hearing to try to negotiate a buyout settlement.
“There’s been no agreement on anything like that,” Walsh said. “We’re going to the hearing. We didn’t initiate it, but we’re going to pick up whatever else afterwards.”
Walsh remained adamant he won’t negotiate before the hearing. Marbury has used the hearing as a bargaining chip, offering to drop his appeal and forgo $1 million if the Knicks release him. Marbury likely would sign with either Boston or Miami if he becomes a free agent.
Marbury has been banished from the Knicks since Dec. 1, when he stormed out of a negotiating session with Walsh. Marbury has to be waived by March 1 to be eligible for a playoff roster.
“I’m not comfortable in this situation at all,” Walsh said. “I would like it to go away and all that. So far it hasn’t.”