To understand Stephon Marbury's, we have to revisit the path that got him to the point where he seems to be staring down the barrel of a gun.

Stephon was selected fourth overall by the Bucks in the 1996 draft, but was immediately traded to the T-Wolves, who happened to have a young blossoming star in Kevin Garnett. Marbury and Garnett had been good friends since high school, as they were both selected to play in the 1995 McDonald's All-American team.

Marbury had everything he needed in Minnesota, he was playing well (averaging 17.7 ppg and 8.6 apg) and excelling alongside Kevin Garnett. The T-Wolves made the playoffs in 1997 and 1998, and the team seemed to be showing promise.

Despite having all an NBA point guard can dream of beside him—Kevin Garnett, and a team of players that could one day win a championship—the mighty "Starbury" felt he was a little to big for the likes of KG and the T-Wolves.  His agent David Faulk demanded a trade, and he was shipped off to the New Jersey Nets.

I have to give Marbury some credit for his work with the Nets, and later, the Suns.  He averaged 23 ppg with the Nets in the 2000-01 season, which was his career high. Stephon became an All-Star, and led both New Jersey and Phoenix to the playoffs in his time there.  Instead of taking matters into his own hands and demanding trades, he was shipped from the Nets to the Suns, and then finally to the Knicks.

This is the part where it all seems to go slightly wrong for Starbury—and by slightly, I mean insanely wrong.

Stephon's time with the Knicks started off strong—he got the Knicks straight to the playoffs and averaged 21.7 ppg in his second season with the now-disgraced franchise.

It's after this point where all the trouble began. Constant feuds with coach Larry Brown led to a decline in Marbury's performance. Some may say that Brown could be to blame for Marbury's behaviour—but regardless of the situation, an NBA player does not behave the way he did towards their coach. Reports say that Marbury came to blows with Brown in front of the rest of the team, and even attemped to blackmail his coach.

After Marbury essentially sabotaged the Knicks, Brown was fired, and the now NBA-pariah Isiah Thomas took over to add another bullet to the Knicks.

Marbury's relationship with Isiah was just as bad as the relationship he held with Brown. The two constantly argued, and eventually Isiah benched Stephon for a number of games. The Knicks' supposed franchise player had turned into one of the league's most disgraced players for his egotistical, selfish, arrogant, and disrespectful behaviour to those around him.

Now that Isiah is gone (just about), the team is in the hands of Donnie Walsh—a decent human being—and Marbury is regarded around the league as a complete disgrace.

So where does this leave "Starbury"? He has one more year on his $21 million contract with the Knicks—and then what? Who will take on the famous Marbury, and what moves will the Knicks make to try and get something in return for him?

The future seems inevitable—Marbury is leaving the Knicks. But before all you Knicks fans jump with joy, hold on a second. There are several possibilities as to where and how Stephon will leave.

Trade

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