Allan Houston ended his comeback attempt with the New York Knicks avoiding the threat of being cut from the team where he started for nine seasons.

One of the club's all-time leading scorers, Houston started at shooting guard for New York between 1996 and 2005.

The 36-year-old returned to the team late last week, but likely would have had to been cut by coach Isiah Thomas, who already had a maximum of 15 players under contract.

Houston averaged 17.3 points per game during a 12-year-career in the NBA, but retired in 2005 because of chronic knee pain.

"While my body and my knees, in particular, feel fine, I know what is required for me to be truly effective in the NBA again, and it involves a timing and progression that would not be fair to Isiah and the Knicks right now," he said.

Houston played six minutes in his only preseason appearance at the Boston Celtics a week ago, then sat out at the New Jersey Nets in his final game in a Knicks uniform.

Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport