Knicks rookie guard Andy Rautins is dealing with an injured knee as he plays for Canada at the World Championships.

New York's training camp is set to open in three weeks, which could make the injury problematic if Rautins continues to play on it.

He did not play in Canada's loss to France on Tuesday.

The Knicks have one open roster spot and plan to sign at least two candidates for the spot.

Maurice Ager, who has been linked to New York, could be one of the possibilities.

According to the New York Daily News, all indications are that Carmelo Anthony has his sights set on landing with the Knicks.

"I give the Knicks a puncher's chance because everything I've heard from Carmelo's people is that his top choice is New York," Frank Isola reports. "His leverage is that he'll be a free agent on July 1."

Donnie Walsh announced today that forward Patrick Ewing, Jr. has been signed by the Knicks as a free agent. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ewing, 6-8, 240-pounds, averaged 4.8 points over 11.3 minutes in four games for the Knicks entry at the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV, and also averaged 11.3 points over 27.3 minutes for Orlando?s entry at the 2010 Orlando Pro Summer League.

As the ill will between Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets grows, apparently even the superstar's spouse is caught in the crossfire.

According to a report in the Denver Post, members of the Nuggets' management privately resent the influence of Anthony's wife, LaLa Vasquez, who is in the entertainment industry.  When Anthony switched his representation to CAA, Vasquez also signed with the agency, which is now pushing for Anthony's departure from Denver.

The Nuggets may just recently have come to the decision to trade Anthony but the team has been exploring the possibility of dealing him since June.

Thursday's Yahoo! Sports report mentions the Nets and Clippers as two teams with the most value to send back to Denver in a trade for Anthony.  But the quality of any package of talent and picks that the Nuggets are able to receive in return for Anthony will be directly dependent on whether Anthony is willing to sign an extension with the team to which he would be traded.

It is unlikely that the Nets or Clippers, or any potential destination, will offer their best assets to Denver unless Anthony is willing to extend his contract simultaneously with the completion of a trade.  No team would be eager to give up valuable pieces for what could end up being a one-year rental of Anthony.

And in turn, Anthony's willingness to commit to any team long term could be heavily influenced by which players that team would trade away for him and how much talent remains on the roster he would be joining.

"While it's nice to dream of the Nuggets acquiring a young player such as New Jersey center Brook Lopez or Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin in a package deal," writes Mark Kiszla, "squabbling between Anthony and team management only figures to drive down any bargaining power Denver might have in trade negotiations. An amicable separation would likely benefit the Nuggets far more than an ugly divorce."

Denver owner Stan Kroenke is reportedly firing back threats to Anthony's representatives and seems willing to play hardball rather than let a player under contract dictate terms.  But in the end, Anthony's power to sign or not sign an extension with Denver's trade partner ensures that the team's management and Anthony will need to work together to come to a resolution on the superstar's future.

Earl Barron recently turned down an offer from Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to a source.

Barron is confident he'll get an offer from an NBA team in the near future.

New York showed interest in re-signing Barron, but they signed young Russian center Timofey Mozgov with a three-year, $9 million deal instead.

The Knicks and Landry Fields have reached agreement on a contract.

Fields was chosen in the second round with the 39th overall pick.

The four-year Stanford product was a surprise selection but played impressively at the Las Vegas summer league.

Jerome Jordan of the New York Knicks has signed with top European team KK Hemofarm Vrsac of Serbia.

His agent Kristina Andersen said by e-mail yesterday that "the Knicks still own his rights and he plans to join them in the future, but chose this route right now in order to ensure he receives a lot of playing time and continues to improve"

The Knicks won't just be contending with other NBA teams in the race to acquire Carmelo Anthony should the Nuggets elect to complete a trade.

Marc Berman of The New York Post writes that the Knicks could lose out to a team like the Rockets because of tax laws.

Texas doesn't have a state income tax.

LeBron James signed with the Heat this summer, joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Florida is another state without a state income tax.

There have been a number of reports that the Knicks are in serious talks with free agent Maurice Ager.

Ben Q. Rock of The Pinstriped Post reported on his Twitter page that Ager will sign with New York soon.

Ager was the 28th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft and spent last season in the NBA D-League.