Marion repeats trade demand

Shawn Marion still wants out of Phoenix. He won't let that wish get in the way of his play as long as he's with the Suns.

And that could well be through the entire upcoming season.

"I still feel the same way," Marion said at the Suns media day on Monday.

He refused to explain the reasons for his unhappiness and tried to put the matter to rest.

"I don't want to be bothered by this no more," Marion said. "What's done is done. It's happened. It has nothing to do with the team, the city or the fans."

Last week, Marion telephoned two reporters to express his desire to be traded. He has spent his entire eight-year NBA career with the Suns, making the all-star team four times, including each of the past three seasons. But he had grown weary of reports that the team was trying to trade him.

He has indicated in the past that his importance to the Suns was not appreciated. He doesn't like being the third on the Suns' order of stars behind Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.

The most contentious issue, however, might be the team's apparent lack of interest in extending Marion's contract. He is Phoenix's highest-paid player this season at $16.4 million and will earn $17.9 million for 2008-09 unless he decides to opt out of his contract.

Marion was talking about none of this on Monday. He would not say why he was so unhappy.

"There's a lot of stuff and details I'm not going to express," he said. "It's easy for people to look at certain stuff, but at the end of the day nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors except me and that person that was in the conversation."

JURY LEANING AGAINST ISIAH: A jury indicated Monday that it believes New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden committed sexual harassment against a former team executive.

There was no official verdict, but the wording of a note to the judge by jurors makes it clear they have reached decisions on the key points of the $10 million lawsuit that has turned into a public relations disaster for the franchise.

Jurors reached a decision on eight of nine questions on the jury form. They were deadlocked on the one question, which asks whether Thomas should pay punitive damages. That question only becomes relevant if the jury of four women and three men first determines Thomas and Madison Square Garden committed harassment against Anucha Browne Sanders.

The judge sent the jury home for the day, asking the panel to deliberate today on the deadlocked question.

Lawyers for both sides declined to comment on the development, which came on the second full day of deliberations.