A SLOW CLIMB

Nets brass preaches patience as players have high expectations

From Jeremy Lin to Jarrett Allen, the Nets are confident they can go from last season’s cellar to this season’s playoffs. But though the players are talking postseason, their front office is just preaching progress.

Coming off the worst record in the NBA, general manager Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson are pragmatic and managing expectations. Atkinson is so focused on getter better, he doesn’t even allow himself to dream about getting a ring.

“We’re so involved with the process and just trying to find our little wins every day and in every corner of this facility and [in] Barclays Center,’’ Atkinson said. “We’re never like, ‘ Hey man, can you imagine when we’re in the playoffs?’ There’s none of that talk. We’re so engrossed with helping our players and staff improve, that’s part of our task. Talking with ownership, that’s our mindset.”

The Nets have had to settle for those tiny wins and moral victories, because real ones have been in short supply. With a healthier and deeper roster, Lin insists Brooklyn is playoff-bound, and Allen told The Post the Nets will contend in the weakened East. With training camp starting Tuesday in Annapolis, Md., what does Atkinson make of such unbridled optimism?

“I read it in the papers, I’ve seen what [the players have said],’’ the second-year coach said. “It goes two ways. You love that the players think that way. … These guys are competitors. From our perspective, I’m not sure it’s great that they think that way.

“Our process is a little different. … We’re thinking about it on a day-to-day basis: how we’re growing, are we making incremental progress, are we improving? … I feel the momentum of this organization and where we’re going. I feel really good about it. Obviously we want that to trans- late into results, there’s no doubt about it. But for me to stand here and say we’re going to win 35 games or 32 games, that’s not how my thought process goes.”

That would be a big leap from last season’s 20-62 mark, but improvement is expected. ESPN’s real plus-minus tabbed them for 29.5 wins, the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook 28.5, above the Bulls and Hawks, tied with the Kings and Suns.

“It’s important to have those small wins along the way,’’ Marks said. “That can be how guys are progressing performancewise, what they’re doing in the weight room, how they bounce back after a tough loss, how they practice, do they recover, where their mindset’s at. It’s about celebrating and finding those wins. They’re also ‘family’ wins. We talk about our culture and the feedback we get from the wife, the significant other.

“Those may be things that are going to be important along the way. At the end of the day, you sit back and say, ‘ All right, we did progress from [step] A, and now we’re here, and that’s where we want to be. It’s not just about wins and losses, although ultimately we totally understand that’s what we’re going to get judged on.”

They also understand the draft pick they surrendered (now in the hands of Cleveland) could end up No. 1 overall. They just don’t care.

“Had you not told me where that pick went, I wouldn’t have known,’’ Marks said. “It’s not our pick, right? So if I focus on what could’ve been, I wouldn’t be here. Kenny wouldn’t be here. Our focus is on what we have right in front of us, those 15 guys. I’d be doing them a complete disservice if I was focused on what Boston’s going to do with that pick, what Cleveland’s going to do with that pick. Our focus is on those guys at hand, and they appreciate that.”