Hornacek focused on the future

The plan all along was develop and grow. Then the Knicks did the darndest thing. They won. But that didn’t last. Reality, injuries and a schedule that made them leave the Garden occasionally kicked in — and kicked them in the butt. So 23 games remain while phrases like “likely won’t be back” or “coaching for his job” appear around coach Jeff Hornacek.

Hornacek, in the second year of a three-year, $15 million deal, said he can’t put his future into the equation. Develop and grow it is.

“You can’t think that way,” Hornacek said. “We’ve talked in the past with [owner] Jim Dolan, [general manager] Scott [Perry] and [president] Steve [Mills]. We all want to win as many games as possible. Still there’s that, ‘ OK we know it’s going to take a few years.’ ”

That is what the early blueprint said. The Knicks bolted to a 16-13 record behind 15 home wins. Kristaps Porzingis forged the finest individual start in team history. Fans reserved hotel rooms for June.

Then fortunes changed. Road games, and losses, crammed the schedule. Tim Hardaway was hurt, missed 20 games. Porzingis eventually tore up his knee and is lost for at least 10 months. Leads became tougher to hold than greased pigs.

“You still go back to, ‘It’s kind of a long-term plan.’ We got off to a good start maybe changed everyone’s thoughts. But they were home games, we knew we had a long way to go,” Hornacek said.

“Especially with KP out at this point, I think we were still kind of in that little hunt where, ‘ Maybe if we got hot, we can sneak into the playoffs.’ Tim’s injury early in the season for 6 ¹/2 weeks and then KP. It kind of really adds to the fact that we’ve got to try to grow and [are] not just playing for this year but playing for the coming years.”

The coach stressed competitive nature: every coach and player wants to win. But with reality all around — the 23-36 record and current eight-game losing streak are reminders — the develop-and-grow mantra arises.

“Who says you can’t win games with the young guys? Their belief just has to be they can win even if they’re young, even if they’re inexperienced,” Hornacek said.

“We’re just trying to get these guys that we have better.”