The Knicks appear to have a potential opening for minutes behind Carmelo Anthony at small forward on their roster. Second-round draft pick Cleanthony Early, having signed his rookie contract over the weekend, said winning that job is his goal heading into training camp.

“Melo is a small forward, he can play the power forward, I’m a small forward, and I think I can play a little power forward,” Early said Sunday at the NBA’s annual rookie photo shoot. “I’ll be backing him up, so as far as my role it’s Melo’s backup. … How many minutes I get depends on how much I produce and how well I do, so that’s all on me.”

And now that he’s officially become a professional basketball player, the former Wichita State star is looking forward to being able to focus on nothing but basketball.

“With no school, I have nothing else to do but time to work on my craft, and I’m all for it,” Early said.

“That’s what I’ve wanted to do for my whole life, and now it’s here,” he added with a smile. “You think I’m not going to do it?”

Early, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 11.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in four summer league games in Las Vegas last month, and said he got a lot out of the experience.

“It was real fun,” he said. “It was a great experience, just to be able to get a feel for [new coach Derek] Fisher and Phil Jackson and the rest of the guys. It was a real good atmosphere.”

Early said the biggest thing he gained from the summer league experience was getting time in the triangle offense, which the Knicks will be feature under Fisher this season.

“The pace of the game is a little faster, but as far as just knowing the spots of where to be in the triangle, stuff like that,” Early said.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo, another of the Knicks’ three second-round picks, said he has not been informed of the team’s plans for him this season. He could play overseas or in the NBA’s Development League as a “draft-and-stash” candidate.

“I’m just looking forward to going to the camp,” Antetokounmpo said. “Working hard and going to the camp is the only thing on my mind … I don’t know the team’s plans.”