Come December, Stephon Marbury will be playing professional basketball in China, but he couldn't return to the Far East without a few parting words.
Marbury directed his words of advice toward the New York Knicks, a team with which he boasts a very rocky history. When team owner James Dolan hired former head coach Isiah Thomas as a part-time team consultant, Marbury, according to the New York Post, had just two words for the Knicks' future: "Good luck."
Both Thomas and Marbury have had individual issues within the Knicks' organization, and the pair has a notoriously difficult relationship. Back in 2007, when Thomas was serving as head coach, he threatened to bench Marbury for a West Coast road trip. The two got into a shouting match on the plane and Marbury was ordered to return home. Things never improved from there.
Though his departure from the Knicks wasn't exactly cordial, Marbury still thanks the organization for giving him the opportunity to play in his home state.
"I'm thankful for the whole experience in New York," Marbury told the post. "It was a life-changing experience."
Marbury isn't the only person displeased by Dolan's decision to bring Thomas back in to the Knicks' organization. According to the Post, team president Donnie Walsh requested that Dolan not bring Thomas back in, and was livid when he learned of his addition to the New York staff.
"It looked to me like Donnie didn't have the power," Marbury said of the decision.
After failing to sign an NBA contract for the 2009-10 season, Marbury signed a contract with the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons in the CBA. This summer, he is leaving his former NBA squad with one repeated expression: "Good luck, New York."
