Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin may not return this season as he deals with a left knee injury.

Martin has described his chances of playing in any of Denver's remaining seven regular-season games as "dim."

He missed his 14th consecutive game when the Nuggets lost to the Mavericks on Monday night. He has been undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy, which involves injecting his blood into his knee to help spur tendon recovery.

"Realistically, I might not be able to play this year. ... I might not be able to play the rest of the year," Martin told Yahoo! Sports. "That's what I'm realistic about, that I might not be able to. It's still up in the air. But, I'm going to do all I can to make sure. I'm going to put my best foot forward and work hard every day to make sure I get back, but if it's not meant to be, then it's out of my control.

"Nobody will ever be upset that I didn't try. They will never be able to say that. I've fought through stuff worse than that."

The team's medical staff diagnosed Martin with a partial tear of his left patella tendon on March 5, with surgery among the possible options, according to sources.

Denver has publicly referred to the injury as "patella tendonitis."

Nuggets coach George Karl is finally nearing the end of his cancer treatments.

According to the Denver Post, Karl has just eight more radiations and one more chemotherapy session remaining.

He was diagnosed with neck and throat cancer earlier this year.

Karl isn't expected to return to the Nuggets until mid-April when the postseason begins.

Speaking to the media at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Chauncey Billups said he likes the idea of LeBron James signing as a free-agent with the Knicks.

"I think it would be pretty cool to come in this place and see number 6 out there," said Billups, referring to the new uniform number James will wear starting next season.

Frank Isola reports that LeBron James may be particularly interested in the development of Danilo Gallinari.  In the Cavs' lone visit to New York in November, a confidant of James pointed at Gallinari and said, "LeBron wants to see how this kid does this year."

Tracy McGrady has been impressed with Gallinari's play.  McGrady said he enjoyed watching Gallinari go toe to toe with Carmelo Anthony on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

"That was like, '(Forget) everybody else, it's me and you,'" McGrady said. "I haven't seen (Hedo) Turkoglu and Dirk (Nowitzki) do that. They play within the team concept. That was, 'Get me the ball and everybody move out of the way.' I was enjoying it."

McGrady previously believed that Gallinari was primarily a shooter rather than a well-rounded scorer.

"I just thought he was a guy that just shoots the ball," McGrady said. "That's it. He'll stay outside and shoot. But he can play."

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony did nothing on Tuesday night to help curtail rumors that he might be an option for the Knicks as a free agent in 2011.

New York president Donnie Walsh said earlier in the week that the team wouldn't use up all their cap space this summer if the right players weren't available. He then hinted at signing a superstar in 2011, when Anthony will become available.

"I really don't know what's going to happen the next year," Anthony said. "I don't know what's going to happen. But I don't see why anybody wouldn't want to play here in New York."

Nuggets coach George Karl isn't likely to return to the club before the postseason, a source told ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan.

Karl has already missed eight games as he deals with neck and throat cancer. He is currently undergoing a rigorous six-week treatment program of radiation and chemotherapy.

Yahoo! Sports reported that the coach recently needed treatment for blood clots in his legs and lungs that surfaced while he was already undergoing treatment.

"He'll return -- we just don't really know the timing," one source told Yahoo! Sports. "It really depends on how he feels."

Karl's longtime girlfriend, Kim Van Deraa, discussed his recent health issues on his blog.

"On Sunday afternoon we had to rush him to the hospital. His leg was extremely swollen and he was having trouble breathing."

The Nuggets are sometimes without coach George Karl, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, and his absence is beginning to wear on the team.

Denver is 5-2 without Karl so far, but his players don't feel as comfortable.

"It's tough just not hearing his voice. He's our leader," guard Anthony Carter said. "(Adrian Dantley) and the assistant coaches are doing a great job. But it's still not the same without George, because George can get his point across a little bit more vocally than A.D. But A.D.'s doing a great job. But we miss George and hopefully he'll be back soon."

"It's really hard," guard Chauncey Billups said. "You lose your leader on team in George. You lose his voice, you lose his presence. A.D. and those guys are doing a wonderful job, but it's just different."

Nuggets coach George Karl missed the team's game against the Bucks on Saturday night as he continues to receive treatment for cancer.

Karl has now missed seven games since announcing a month ago that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer.

Denver is now 5-2 without Karl.

Free agent Melvin Ely, who is working out in Las Vegas, is among the big men the Denver Nuggets could consider signing.

The Nuggets were unable to acquire a big man at the trade deadline.

Nuggets coach George Karl returned to the team on Tuesday night after missing four games because of cancer treatments.

"He said before the game that wins are the best treatment for him," Denver's Joey Graham said after the team beat Washington.

"Hopefully, we can keep this thing rolling and win a championship for him and he'll be completely healed. That's the plan."

Karl is battling neck and throat cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments regularly for a six-week period.

"He told us before the game he wasn't going to do too much. He was going to let [Adrian Dantley] continue to do what he's doing and he was going to chime in here and there. It's just good to have him on the sidelines with us. Our focus level went up," Carmelo Anthony said.