The Knicks haven't had much luck with knee surgeries the past year.

There's a chance that the rehabbing Allan Houston won't be ready, as the team had anticipated, when training camp gets underway on Oct. 3, Houston told The Post yesterday.

Houston underwent arthroscopic surgery on June 10 to remove loose pieces of cartilage from his right knee. The team has said that Houston was expected to be ready well before camp begins.

Houston's slower-than-expected rehab means that the Knicks' two franchise players, Antonio McDyess and Houston, could be spectators, come Day 1 of veteran's camp. McDyess is a longshot to be ready, though the Knicks have not provided an update on his condition in more than four months.

"I don't know, I can't tell you right now," Houston said, offering an obtuse response to the question of whether he'll be ready for the start of camp. "But I'm not going to pull my hair out if I'm not there for the first day of training camp. The thing is, when the team needs me, if it's the second week or the first day, I'll be there."

The good news is that Houston has been in close contact with McDyess, he said, and is more certain than ever the power forward will play this season. McDyess had surgery on April 21 on his left patella - his third knee surgery in 18 months.