Rice's complaints, plus the fact that the Knicks hardly need another All-Star swingman to go with Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston, have fueled speculation that they will make a second trade with the Atlanta Hawks involving one of their stars. The most prominent theory is that the Knicks will send Houston and perhaps Marcus Camby to the Hawks for Dikembe Mutombo. But one Eastern Conference official who spoke on condition of anonymity said yesterday he understood that the Knicks would trade Sprewell instead of Houston to Atlanta.

Both the Knicks and the Hawks have denied that such a trade is in motion, and, in a statement, Coach Van Gundy said he looks forward to playing the three perimeter stars together.

''Glen Rice has had a tremendous career and we are happy to have him,'' Van Gundy said. ''We look forward to Allan, Latrell and Glen forming a very dynamic perimeter.''

The acrimony between Ewing and the Knicks reportedly began earlier this summer when the club refused to grant him a two-year contract extension. Layden said last month that the two parties had never discussed an extension and that Ewing and the Knicks would work together to find a trade that benefited both the player and the organization.

Several people close to Ewing and the Knicks said that Ewing was uncomfortable as the third star behind Sprewell and Houston and that he had grown tired of being blamed for the Knicks' inability to win a championship.

The gulf between Ewing and the news media and fans was never more apparent than last month, when it was first announced that he would be traded to Seattle in the foiled four-team, 13-player deal. After he was criticized heavily by the media and fans, it seemed nearly impossible for Ewing to return for this season.

''Patrick Ewing will forever be a New York Knick in the minds of everyone associated with this franchise -- his contributions to this team have been unparalleled,'' Layden said.