#Jarrett Allen: Kenny Atkinson would be ‘hell of a coach’ for Knicks

The Knicks’ protracted coaching search isn’t about to end just yet. They haven’t even made an initial offer to any of their nearly dozen candidates — including Tom Thibodeau and Kenny Atkinson — with the search expected to extend at least into next week.

Listen to center Jarrett Allen of cross-East River rival Nets, and he can’t figure out what’s taking them so long. He called the currently unemployed Atkinson “a hell of a coach,” and even though having him running the Knicks would be “weird,” he stumped for his former Nets mentor.

New Knicks president Leon Rose is likely to hire a coach before the July 30 NBA restart in Orlando, according to SNY, and The Post has confirmed they’ll speak with candidates next week. Thibodeau, 62, is still perceived as the leader in the clubhouse and the betting favorite, but clearly not Allen’s favorite.

“[Atkinson would bring] what he brought with us,” Allen said Thursday via Zoom. “We came in — or I came into the Nets — and we weren’t making our mark in the NBA.

“You could see every year that I was with him, and every year that he coached us, we kept getting better and better, and the players that were under him kept developing and developing and bringing us more confidence. So whatever team he goes to, they’re going to get a hell of a coach.”

The facts bear Allen out. While Atkinson — who has had at least two interviews with the Knicks — was 118-190 with the Nets, he grew their young talent and guided their rebuild. He took over the worst team in the NBA in 2016 and coached it into the playoffs last season.

Atkinson — a Huntington native and former Knick assistant — had the Nets sitting seventh in the East again this season when he and the club parted ways on March 7, just four days before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus.

The Knicks have youngsters RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and Mitchell Robinson, with more prospects incoming, holding not only their own lottery pick but the Clippers’ next two first-rounders and Dallas’ 2021 selection. Atkinson could be a perfect fit due to his history of player development and knowledge of the lay of the land.

“It [would] be a little weird. He’s been my NBA coach really all my NBA career, so seeing him with the rival basically, it would be kind of weird playing against him,” Allen admitted. “But [it’d] kind of make you play harder knowing that was your old coach. You want to show him how much you’ve improved.”

Thibodeau is still perceived as the favorite for the Knicks job, according to league sources who spoke with The Post. An impressive 352-246 overall, he led the Bulls to the playoffs in all of his five seasons in Chicago, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. He also snapped Minnesota’s 13-year drought without a 2011 postseason berth, when he was named NBA Coach Of The Year.

A former assistant in the Garden from 1996-2004, he’s believed to have good relationships not only with Rose, but also newly hired Knicks executive vice president William “World Wide Wes” Wesley.

The Knicks are 21-45 and aren’t part of the restart in Orlando. David Fizdale got fired after a wretched 4-18 start, and they made some strides under interim coach Mike Miller, going 17-27.

The Knicks also interviewed their former coach Mike Woodson, as well as current Lakers assistant Jason Kidd (who played for the Nets and Knicks, and was Brooklyn’s head coach).

Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown, Magic assistant Pat Delany, Bulls assistant Chris Fleming, Spurs assistant Will Hardy, Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley and 76ers lead assistant Ime Udoka are all also believed to have interviewed.