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GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Isiah Thomas refused to clear up the mysteries regarding Stephon Marbury's status with the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
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Then again, it's hard to provide much detail in 2 minutes, 9 seconds.
That's how long it took the coach to cut short his latest remarks to the media, fed up with talking about a player who might not even wear a Knicks uniform again.
Thomas also abruptly ended two sessions the previous day when the topic of Marbury came up. He tried to steer the topic to basketball Tuesday, but there's not much to talk about there after the Knicks fell to 18-42 with Monday's loss to New Orleans. New York plays host to Cleveland on Wednesday.
"We have our hands full with Chris Paul and LeBron James, and when you have the opportunity to speak with Steph you can ask him all the questions that you need to ask him," Thomas said.
Thomas said Marbury, who had left ankle surgery Jan. 22, was in the training room rehabbing. But when reporters asked a Knicks official if the point guard would come out and speak, they were told he had already left.
Marbury hasn't talked to the press since Jan. 16, the day before deciding to have surgery after an MRI exam. Thomas said before a game Monday he expected Marbury to be there to answer questions, but Marbury never showed. Thomas also said he expects Marbury at the game Wednesday.
That all comes after it was reported Thomas told Marbury to stay away from the team while rehabbing. Marbury hasn't been seen at any home games since his surgery, though the Knicks say he has been at their training center during practices getting treatment.
It isn't clear whether the Knicks require or expect injured players to attend home games. Forward Zach Randolph stayed home Monday with his bruised foot, but guard Jamal Crawford came most of the time last season when he was able to get around following ankle surgery.
"There was never any rules really discussed with me, I was just there," Crawford said. "I just wanted to be around."
But Thomas might not care if Marbury is, since he already seems ready for life without him. The relationship between the coach and point guard has been strained since November, when Marbury skipped a game in Phoenix following a dispute with Thomas.
Last week, Thomas said the Knicks would need a third guard next season to play with Crawford and Nate Robinson, even though Marbury will still be under contract. So if Thomas is still around, it seems likely that Marbury won't be.
Then Thomas won't have to deal with any more Marbury queries.
"Any questions about LeBron? LeBron James?" Thomas said after the fifth in a row about Marbury. "Going once, going twice?"
And then he was gone.