DENVER — Courtney Lee's season hasn't been easy.

The guard missed the Knicks' first 24 games because of neck and back spasms. Then he spent his first month back trying to regain his form. Now he's seeing his playing time slashed as coach David Fizdale focuses on developing the team's young players.

Yet Lee is trying to remain positive.

"You gotta stay professional," Lee said after the Knicks' morning shootaround Tuesday at Pepsi Center. "I’ve been in the league 11 years. Over those years from my rookie year on up I’ve had vets that’s been in this situation. I watched the ones that stayed positive and continued to work and stay ready."

In 10 games entering Tuesday's New Year's Day matchup against the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets, Lee was averaging 5.3 points on 44.4 percent shooting, including 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Lee, who's playing 14 minutes per game, said he's still trying to get his conditioning back up. He couldn't do much while he was out because of the severity of his injury, so that set him back significantly.

Although at this point, he hasn't been getting much playing time anyway. Lee hadn't played in two of the previous three games coming into Tuesday.

With rookie guard Allonzo Trier back from his hamstring strain, Fizdale has been giving him the bulk of the minutes off the bench.

"I really feel for Courtney," Fizdale said. "He got hurt early on. We got the season jumpstarted. Really by the time that he’s gotten back I think it’s more important that I focus on the young guys right now. So unfortunately for him he never really got his body going at the level that we know he can play."

But Fizdale likes the way Lee is handling the situation.

"Courtney has been an incredible pro," Fizdale said. "I mean, he’s been like a big brother to all of these guys. They love him. They love being around him. He doesn’t do things like, you see times when veterans aren’t playing they take young guys down in certain ways. Courtney’s been the guy that’s like, no, go, play. And like he tells me every day, ‘Coach you need me, I’m here. I’m ready.’"

In a season that's all about development, Fizdale has had to balance getting the team's young players as many minutes as possible while also trying to find playing time for the veterans.

That means players like Lee, Enes Kanter, Mario Hezonja and Lance Thomas have been spending a lot of time on the bench.

Kanter has expressed frustration about his diminished playing time, which came when Fizdale inserted second-year player Luke Kornet into the starting lineup.

Lee said he's tried to stay as positive as possible. He's also tried to stay ready, because anything could happen.

Here or elsewhere.

"Whether it be, god forbid, anybody goes down and they need a player to step up and be ready," Lee said. "Or you never know, you can get traded at any moment so you gotta make sure you’re taking care of yourself as far as being in shape, keeping your rhythm, keeping a positive outlook on everything. I believe in karma, man. Not going to come in here and be negative. Not going to pout."

Lee is a potential trade candidate because he has another year left on his contract worth $12 million, and the Knicks could look to shed that salary to create more cap space. At 33, Lee also doesn't fit into the team's long-term plans.

But there's no guarantee the Knicks will find a suitable deal, especially because of their reluctance to trade draft picks.

So in the meantime, Lee is trying to make the best of his current situation.

"Just gotta stay positive and ready," Lee said.

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Email: iseman@northjersey.com