Stephon Marbury attended the Knicks' home opener on Saturday night and was asked to leave a courtside seat when ushers examined his ticket and determined he was sitting in the wrong spot.

Marbury left the arena just as the first quarter was ending.

Marbury pulled out a video camera shortly after arriving and began shooting the live action.

Larry Brown still believes that Eddy Curry will be an asset in the near future.

Brown endorsed the acquisition of Curry when he was coaching the Knicks in 2005.

"I believe down the road he'll be an asset, I really believe that," Brown told the New York Post on Friday.

"He still has time and has a general manager who thinks a lot of him and is not rushing him. But if he doesn't play this year, it's going to be real hard."

Curry will be reevaluated Sunday and could be cleared to practice for the first time since the opening day of training camp.

Chris Duhon told the media that his teammates were not serious about Friday's game in Charlotte.  Duhon said the Knicks dropped their double overtime loss against the Bobcats by not having the right mindset prior to tip-off.

"We lost this game before the game even started," Duhon said. "A lot of us weren't taking the game serious, joking around, not really preparing for the game and it showed."

Duhon continued:  "We're not that good.  We can't come in here and joke around and take the game lightly. It is a precious game and we've got to be serious. This is our job and we have to take it seriously, and we're not doing that right now. It shows in our layup line, it shows before the game. That's why we come out and we're not ready to play."

The Knicks were down 19 points after the first period but mounted a huge fourth-quarter comeback to force the extra sessions.  The Bobcats went on to win the game by a score of 102-100.

Larry Brown had positive things to say about the direction that the Knicks' organization is heading.  Brown was fired as head coach in New York after one season.

"New York is a franchise that a lot of people want to play [for]. They've got assets, money and they've got a good plan," Brown said.

Brown also had complimentary words for Eddy Curry's value as a low-post scorer but cautioned that the center will be in a precarious position if he does not play this season.

"If he doesn't play this year, that's going to be real hard," Brown said.

Marc Berman reports that Mike D'Antoni is already contemplating a change to the Knicks' starting lineup, one that could involve Danilo Gallinari.  

Presumably Gallinari would be slotted at small forward, knocking either Jared Jeffries or Al Harrington from the starting five.

The Knicks traded Quentin Richardson to Memphis for Darko Milicic last June. After being dealt three more times over the summer, Richardson was in the Heat?s starting lineup on opening night.

?I?m not surprised he?s starting,? D?Antoni said. ?Quentin is a good player. We just thought we?d trade him because we thought that Darko Milicic was someone that could suit our needs. I think we?re right, but I also think it?s a good trade also for Miami. He?s a nice small forward.?

Richardson looks very slim after a summer of working out. He lists himself at 224, which was around his college playing weight.

?Good for him and losing weight,? D?Antoni said. ?A contract year will do those things to you. Quentin is a very good competitor. I have no complaints, but I?m sure he figured out that he needs to be a little quicker and a little lighter. Good for him."

Dwyane Wade was coy when asked about his impending free agency by the New York media before Wednesday's game.

"I'm not even thinking about it," said Wade. "I'll answer it different every time."

Wade smiled when asked if he was even aware that the Knicks will be under the cap next summer.

"I think the whole world is aware of that," Wade said. "You're not a basketball fan if you're not aware of the fact the Knicks are under the cap, setting themselves up for the summer of 2010."

Charles Barkley believes that Donnie Walsh's decision to essentially tank two seasons in order to hopefully sign LeBron James is poor management.

"When you set up yourself by basically saying, 'We're going to (stink) for the next two or three years,' I don't think there is any way that can be good for your team," Barkley told the New York Daily News. "They're not going to win because those guys know they're not going to be here next year. To expect them to give 110% is unrealistic."

Seven of the team's 14 players are in the final year of their contracts. Walsh, the team's president, didn't add anyone of significance to the roster this summer.

"The Knicks don't have a good team," said Barkley. "I think waiting to do all the free agency thing has hurt the camaraderie and chemistry on the team. Those guys aren't dumb. They know they're not going to be around."

Pini Gershon, the coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, says he's sorry for his actions during an exhibition game against the Knicks earlier this month.

He sent letters to NBA commissioner David Stern and Knicks president Donnie Walsh, according to the Associated Press.

"Having had time to reflect on my actions while our team was in New York, I would like to apologize to the New York Knicks franchise, the NBA and basketball fans not only at Madison Square Garden but throughout the country," Gershon wrote.

"Our trip to the U.S. was for a wonderful cause -- the children of Migdal Ohr -- and hopefully a few minutes of bad behavior on my behalf won't detract from all the good that was accomplished by our spirited competition with the Knicks and the Clippers."

Gershon received two technical fouls and was ejected in the third quarter of an Oct. 18 loss to New York, but refused to leave the court, delaying the game for eight minutes.

Even though the Knicks have had a singular goal of clearing cap space for 2010, Donnie Walsh isn't strictly waiting for July 1st.  There have been many whispers that many of the big names will not leave their current clubs.

"It will affect the way we operate," Walsh says. "Since you can't sign a free agent now, you're watching everything every day. I'll continue to do that. You'll have to react pretty quickly, whoever it is. I have to look at all scenarios and do the right thing when the opportunity appears."

Walsh says he had never targeted any one player to turn around the team.

"When I made the decision to clear salary-cap space, I didn't even know who would be in the free agent class (of 2010)," he says. "I just thought, as a general rule, that's how we had to do it, to get to contending status quicker."