Business

MARBURY NIXES RETAILER

Stephon Marbury’s crying foul against his bankrupt former buddies at Steve & Barry’s – claiming in court papers the broke bargain retailer stiffed him for millions of dollars in royalties from his popular sneaker line.

Marbury – who sold his low-price “Starbury” kicks at the once-booming mall staple – also accused the company of screwing up their trademark agreement by registering several items in their name instead of his.

The Knicks star – who is so in love with his sneaker line he recently tattooed its logo on the side of his head – claims in the court papers that he earned over $8 million from the Steve & Barry’s collection.

He publicly stated that he deliberately sold the shoes on the cheap so poor kids could afford them and proudly strutted in his designs in Madison Square Garden.

But as Steve & Barry’s troubles grew, he said he stopped getting his royalty checks, the last of which came in January.

Shortly after Steve & Barry’s filed for bankruptcy in July, they claimed in court papers that they owed Marbury zilch.

But he alleges that they need to fork over “at least $2,193,256.56” in royalties for the past year, according to the motion filed by Marbury.

He said the number owed to him is likely higher because he hasn’t received earnings reports from the nose-diving company in the past two quarters, according to the papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court.

Lawyers for the point guard filed a motion asking to move his case out of bankruptcy court and into the district court so it can go before a jury.

His lawyers would not comment on the litigation. Lawyers for Steve & Barry’s didn’t return calls for comment.

Bankruptcy attorney Scott K. Levine, who did not work on this case but handles a slew of other high profile Chapter 11s, said the star’s licensing contract, which Steve & Barry’s listed in their court papers, could be a valuable asset to the troubled clothes retailer.

“It’s beneficial to the debtor to transfer the contract [to whoever buys it],” he said.

Marbury’s motion could “reduce the value of their asset and diminish the value of their purchase price from a third party,’ said Levine.

New York investment firm Bay Harbour Management is reportedly in the final stages of purchasing Steve & Barry’s. They did not return calls for comment.

The snazzy sneaks created quite the stir when Marbury launched the line two years ago because of their super cheap price tag. At the time, they sold for a paltry $14.98, a fraction of the price many other stars’ shoes sell for.

The price dipped even more after their debut – in which many stores saw lines out the door – to a shocking $8.98.

The Post reported last month that Marbury was finalizing a deal with Amazon to sell his “Starbury” sneakers when his contract with was up.