Marbury vs. Madison. (Square Garden)

Over 200 years ago, there was a famous case called Marbury vs. Madison involving a series of midnight appointees to fill as many government posts in the waning days of the John Adams administration right before Thomas Jefferson took over.

Fast forward to 2008 and there's a similar situation going on. The old administration (Isiah Thomas) brought in Stephon Marbury in January 2004 and the new administration (Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni) wants him gone.

How much do they want him gone? They're diplomatic about it in their public comments but proof is that they have him sitting in street clothes the last two games. Marbury made that request (possibly to avoid injury risk in the event of a buyout or being waived).



The reason given by the Knicks for benching a man making 22 million is that they want the major minutes to go to others and see what happens. While it was decent in the season opener, Knick fans have seen the results in the last two games when the offense is not working as designed. The awful numbers have turned into a blowout at Philadelphia and a eight-point loss to Milwaukee that really wasn't that close.

Could Marbury have changed any of that? Maybe. But it appears that the new administration is not into instant gratification and considering Marbury's track record of feuding with coaches among other things, they don't feel like it's worth the effort.

And at some point, there will be a sitdown (not the Johnny Sack-Tony Soprano variety) but a meeting will ensue. What happens next could be waivers or even another buyout.

The Knicks lead the NBA in buyouts it seems but Walsh never did it in 22 years at Indiana. He doesn't believe in them but he also hasn't made the amount of mistakes the Knicks had in the eight years since trading Patrick Ewing.

If none of those conclusions are reached, then Marbury will be the most expensive insurance policy in the history of the NBA.

The Knicks probably won't be very good but at least we'll have an idea of what's going on

In case you've been scoring at home, the Knicks over the last seven years have been terrible. They've appeared in four playoff games and won none of them and their combined regular-season record is a sterling 218-356. They've also been stuck in the stone age when it comes to information but since Donnie Walsh has come aboard, those media policies have become a thing of the past.



Proof of that besides the obvious comes from Jamal Crawford blogging for Newsday, which happens to be owned by Cablevision. Perhaps the best evidence is today's episode of Real Training Camp on NBA-TV. If you've ever seen the show, it's an open practice coming into your living room with commentary and today the Knicks were the featured team.

Today's episode saw them do a lot of running which is what the system of new coach Mike D'Antoni is about. In Phoenix he liked to get the shot off in seven seconds or less, whether he can do that here is another story.

One thing that viewers saw is Eddy Curry practice for the first time after being stricken with a 104-degree fever last week. Viewers also saw Stephon Marbury look in the best shape of his career as he prepares for a possible role as a reserve.

The Knicks will probably not very good, maybe somewhere in the 30s in the win department. D'Antoni is throwing it against the wall and see what sticks but the fact that the organization is allowing fans to watch a practice on TV is a step into the modern era even if it's a little late.