BY ALAN HAHN

Donnie Walsh put the brakes on the anticipated end of Stephon
Marbury's tenure with the Knicks when he told ESPN.com last night that
the controversial point guard is "coming to training camp."

In an attempt to refute a report in yesterday's Newsday, which said
the Knicks were planning to waive Marbury by the end of the week,
Walsh, through a team spokesman, said, "We have not approached Stephon
about a buyout."

The Knicks open training camp Tuesday in upstate Saratoga Springs and
are looking to begin rebuilding a franchise that had been left in
ruins by Walsh's predecessor, Isiah Thomas. It had been speculated
since Walsh took over the team in April that Marbury's days as a Knick
would soon be over and multiple sources indicated that buyout talks
were expected to begin this week. But Walsh, who has remained hesitant
to eat a hefty portion of the $21.9 million left in the final year of
Marbury's contract, is apparently still not ready to commit.

Walsh, who did not return a message seeking comment from Newsday on
Monday, told ESPN.com that "this thing is initiated in the press and
then I have to ask questions about it." A majority of the Knicks
veterans were expecting Marbury to be gone by the time camp opened.
And despite Walsh's statement to the contrary, it would be a surprise
if Marbury is on the gym floor at Skidmore College on Tuesday morning.
Walsh signed free agent Chris Duhon to a two-year, $12-million
contract in July with the promise that he would compete with Marbury
to be the team's starting point guard.

Multiple sources said the Knicks have had internal discussions
regarding Marbury throughout the offseason and there was a conclusion
that he should be moved. With no takers on the trade market, the only
other option would be to buy him out and place him on waivers. Madison
Square Garden chairman James Dolan would have to approve the buyout,
which likely would be somewhere around $16.5 million.

As training camp nears, however, Walsh increasingly has been aware
that Marbury has fully recovered from surgery on his left ankle to
remove bone spurs and has arrived at the MSG Training Center in
excellent condition. Marbury ran with the other Knicks veterans in
scrimmages Monday but worked out on his own yesterday. It is believed
if Marbury is bought out by the Knicks, he will be quickly signed to
the veteran's minimum ($1.3 million) or biannual exception ($1.9
million). One potential destination could be the Miami Heat, who have
a need at the point guard position next to Dwyane Wade.

While Walsh is concerned about letting a high-end talent walk away
with a pocketful of money and the motivation to prove himself, others
within the organization - players mostly - would welcome the departure
of the franchise's most notorious personality. His falling out with
Thomas, his former mentor, last season was almost the last straw. In
the days after Marbury left the team in Phoenix last November after he
was told he would no longer be starting, Thomas went to Dolan to seek
approval to buy out Marbury's contract. Instead, Marbury remained with
the team but had to deal with several issues throughout the season,
from his public falling out with Thomas to the emotions of the sudden
death of his father, Donald, in December to the ankle injury in
January that eventually sidelined him for the rest of the season.