Beijing Ducks parts ways with Marbury over role disagreement

The Beijing Ducks has announced Stephon Marbury's departure, ending the 40-year-old point guard's career in the Chinese capital, which lasted for six years.

Stephon Marbury finally says goodbye to Beijing. [File photo: thepaper.cn]

According to a three-year contract signed in 2015, Marbury has the option to continue playing for Beijing or to become the assistant coach of the team for the next season (2017-2018).

An official statement released by the club said Marbury prefers to continue playing for the team, while the Ducks intends to let him join the coaching team.

Marbury led Beijing to win the CBA championship in 2014. [File photo: baidu.com]

The disagreement over the issue has resulted in the departure of the former NBA player. After Marbury rejected the club's offer as an assistant coach, the management of the Beijing Ducks finally decided to terminate his contract in advance.

On February 25, Marbury said he wished to retire at the end of the 2017-2018 season, but the club seems to be concerned over his age while planning to rebuild a younger lineup for the team.

Marbury led Beijing lost their host game with Sichuan on Feb. 19, 2017, shutting their chance to make playoffs. [File photo: Xinhua]

The last season saw the first time that a Marbury-led Beijing Ducks had failed to enter the playoffs in six years.

Marbury was brought to the Beijing Ducks in 2011 and helped the club win its first ever CBA championship in 2012. He then went on to win the CBA titles with the team consecutively in 2014 and 2015.

He is widely considered in China as the best foreign player to ever play for the capital city.