If Stephon Marbury’s bloated $42 million contract already seemed unmovable, LeBron James didn’t add any grease to the wheels yesterday. When asked about the Cavs possibly acquiring Marbury via trade, LeBron replied, “I couldn’t have a guy like that on my team.”

Indeed, LeBron isn’t alone. According to a Yahoo.com report, Marbury’s teammates voted for Stephon not to play in Wednesday night’s game against the Clippers. Head coach Isiah Thomas responded by giving Marbury 33 minutes and 36 seconds of playing time in the loss – most of any player coming off the bench and fourth most on the team.

According to Alan Hahn of Newsday, in the wake of this week’s events, Thomas has lost the support of the locker room, and his actions in Los Angeles “only promoted concerns that one inmate really does run this asylum and lent credibility to the report that Marbury threatened to reveal secrets he has about Thomas if he were benched.” Says Hahn:

…With 2:53 left in the first quarter, Thomas sent Marbury into the game for Quentin Richardson, to the surprise – and disappointment – of many on the team.
…
Third-year guard Nate Robinson, who believes he has done everything Thomas has asked of him to improve his game, focus and attitude since last season ended, played 17:49 and was perplexed after the game.

The Knicks have gone 6-20 since Zeke was granted a contract extension in the midst of a playoff push that subsequently crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. And while it’s likely too little and absurdly more than too late, the Post’s Peter Vecsey is reporting today that the shot clock may finally have run out on Isiah.

According to the report, since MSG’s embarrassing defeat in the Anucha Browne-Sanders trial, Charles Dolan has been taking meetings at the Garden twice a week, lasting four to five hours. It is the first time that many recall seeing the father at the Garden he’s allowed his son to run into the ground, and a clear signal that James Dolan, “at long last, was being held accountable in some manner for years of wretched management and unseemly executive-on-down behavior that’s polluted the organization’s atmosphere and compelled even many hardcore fans to turn away in disgust.”

Vecsey states that the same source who gave him the scoop that the Knicks had decided to buy out Larry Brown two summers ago has now informed him that Dolan is heading out west and Thomas feels he is in “severe job jeopardy.” Vecsey believes that the organization is simply searching for a “halfway suitable” replacement, and that the ax could come down as soon as today and perhaps prior to tonight’s game against the Kings in Sacramento, though Vecsey admits he may be guilty of wishful thinking. “Optimist that I am,” writes Vecsey. “I believe Dolan is on the verge of fumigating the premises.”

Fingers crossed, Pete. Fingers crossed.