NBA

We know one Knicks player Steve Kerr really likes

Steve Kerr is already making nice with rookie Tim Hardaway Jr.

Hardaway finished in fifth place in the Rookie of the Year voting — even behind Nets big man Mason Plumlee — but his lone first-place vote came from Kerr, the TNT broadcaster who is the heavy favorite to accept the Knicks head-coaching job this week.

Hardaway, selected 24th and highly valued by the Knicks, also received two second-place votes and 12 third-place votes but finished behind Nets rookie big man Mason Plumlee, who was fourth.

This is the first year the NBA has released the ballots. Kerr chose to explain his vote.

“I base all my votes in every category on players impacting games that matter,” Kerr told The Post. “[Michael] Carter-Williams and [Victor] Oladipo played well, but for teams that were way out of the playoff race all year. Hardaway played important minutes for a team that went down to the wire in the playoff race. Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie teams were the most difficult votes for me this year due to so few rookies impacting winning teams.”

Kerr was in Oklahoma City on Monday night to work the Clippers-Thunder first-round match with Marv Albert. The longtime duo — likely to be soon broken apart — are slated to do Game 2 of that series Wednesday. That is, unless Kerr agrees to terms with the Knicks before the game.

A potential reason for the delay is Kerr waiting to see if Golden State’s job opens with the potential firing of Mark Jackson. Kerr is said to be friends with Warriors owner Joe Lacob and knows Warriors executive Rick Welts from their Phoenix days.

However, despite Golden State’s proximity to his home in San Diego, Kerr likely will choose to team with Knicks president Phil Jackson, run the triangle and coach the Knicks, his former Arizona coach Lute Olson told The Post last week.

Some sources around the NBA say there’s a possibility Kerr’s rep, former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, is looking for a negotiating chip that the Warriors’ interest would bring. Tannenbaum was reputed as a shrewd contract negotiator with the Jets.
Coincidentally, Tannenbaum works for the Bartelstein group — which so happens represents Hardaway. As a player, Kerr was represented by Mark Bartelstein.

Based on Kerr’s rookie analysis, Plumlee should also have been on his ballot, playing for a playoff team. Plumlee notched 58 points — including two first-place votes — topping Hardaway [23 points]. As expected, 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams won Rookie of the Year honors and the Magic’s Victor Oladipo finished second.

Kerr had Oladipo second and Carter-Williams third on his ballot. Writers and broadcaster receive ballots about 10 days before the regular-season finale.

In a mild surprise, Utah’s Trey Burke, Hardaway’s college teammate at Michigan, finished third, ahead of Plumlee and Hardaway, who dazzled off the bench with his 3-point shooting and athletic forays to the basket but struggled with defense and rebounding.

Hardaway averaged 10.2 points and made 130 3-pointers — only 37 fewer than Carmelo Anthony in more than 1,000 less minutes. Hardaway also played 81-of-82 games.

Kerr, whom sources said should make his decision this week, believes re-signing Anthony is a must and a vital part of the team’s future. Apparently so is Hardaway.