Marbury, Knicks 'Hoaxed' by Real Madrid Offer

It's been a little too quiet on the Stephon Marbury front lately, hasn't it? Last we heard, Marbury was banished from the team after failing to reach a buyout agreement. But as it turns out, there were some jokers trying to make plenty of noise about getting Marbury sent out of town behind the scenes.

The NY Post tells the tale of some investors who claimed that they could sign Marbury to a lucrative marketing deal, which he could then parlay into a contract to play basketball for Real Madrid. After several phone calls and emails to Marbury and the New York media, the people behind it all were found out to be "phonies."

While banished from the Knicks, Stephon Marbury was pursued relentlessly by a pair of alleged Swiss bankers claiming to have connections to Real Madrid. Marbury, after discovering their intricate plot was a hoax, was considering turning over information to law-enforcement officials about the contact.

Marbury said he returned calls and e-mails from the investors Saturday.
"They're phonies, it's a hoax," said Marbury.

Not to be overly cynical here, but really? Someone says they're willing to pay Marbury $12 million euros to play ball in Europe, and you're telling me it's a hoax? Shocking. Wait, maybe I should rethink this. The Knicks are paying the guy $21 million to stay away from the team altogether, so maybe it's not that outrageous an idea after all.