In recent months, Stephon Marbury has said he is more focused on his Starbury business than basketball.
Marbury may have found a way to help both avenues. Marbury, who failed to sign with an NBA team during free agency and claimed he would sit out the season, has agreed to play in China, according to the team Web site of Shanxi Club.
Marbury has long talked about playing overseas, mostly to sell his Starbury brand sneakers and apparel, which went online through an Amazon.com agreement recently.
Marbury has not confirmed the deal through his Twitter account or The Post. Marbury did not respond to messages yesterday.
One week ago, Marbury told The Post he returned from a holiday in Puerto Rico to celebrate his wife’s birthday and made no mention of the option to play in China.
The Chinese club is ranked 15th of 17 teams. The boss, Wang Xingjiang said on the team Web site: “The aim of signing Marbury is to pay back our fans and try to win more games the rest of the season.”
Eddy Curry, who had not played in 15 games, may have to play in China next season too.
Curry suffered another devastating blow to his comeback as the club announced he will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to remove loose cartilage and put him out six weeks.
Curry likely has no chance of getting back into a playing role this season unless the Knicks fall out of the playoff race. He has another year left on his contract, but Curry is expected to seek a buyout this summer. Curry said after his recent demotion that if he didn’t get back playing, they should part ways in the offseason.
Jonathan Bender is no longer the flavor of the month. He was a DNP yesterday for the second straight game as rookie Jordan Hill is now in the rotation. Hill played 15 minutes while scoring six points (3 of 5) to go along with six boards.