"If the Knicks can't get Jamal Crawford to accept their $2.5 million exception and have his agent, Andy Miller, help swing a three-team trade, interim general manager Glen Grunwald has a fallback plan — sore-backed point guard Baron Davis.

Sources said Davis will either be waived via the amnesty clause or waived outright Friday. The latter is better for the Knicks.

"They're watching and waiting,'' one NBA source said of the Knicks.

Davis arrived to training camp with a back injury and the Cavs physical reportedly showed it could take a few weeks to heal. Davis, who is seeking a second opinion, has told confidants the Knicks are his first choice — if it is his choice."