NBA

CASSELL SUPPORTS STEPHON

BOSTON – Celtics veteran guard Sam Cassell ripped Knicks management for not releasing exiled point guard Stephon Marbury, who hasn’t played this season.

Cassell has known Marbury since Marbury was a 10th-grader and Cassell was teammates with Marbury’s brother, Norm, at San Jacinto JC.

“They should let him go,” Cassell told The Post before the Celtics beat the Knicks 110-101 last night. “They always tell us to be professional. Be professional about it. Let the man go. Why not?”

MORE: Knicks: Champs Acted Like Chumps

KNICKS BLOG

Marbury could be in his final days as a Knick, as the Players’ Association is waiting for a buyout proposal from Knicks president Donnie Walsh that could come as soon as today, according to a source. Marbury traveled with the team and was inactive for the 10th straight game, even though the Knicks have just 10 healthy bodies suiting up.

“I’ve know Steph for years,” Cassell said. “I said a long time ago he was special. That he’s still going through all this, it’s crazy. Let him go.”

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Rookie Danilo Gallinari visited a Beantown back specialist yesterday and while surgery was still not recommended, the new timetable was extended an extra two weeks. According to a Knicks spokesman, the specialist ordered Gallinari to rest and rehab for six to eight weeks. That figure is up from the four to six weeks that was set last Friday from a Manhattan specialist.