Nets’ Allen shows he’s a cut above

Nets rookie Jarrett Allen’s mother Cheryl raised him to think of others, and he already has shown that before ever suiting up for a game — giving back in his adopted Brooklyn home, as well as putting the team’s needs ahead of his own.

Last week Allen welcomed a competitor for the center job with open arms, befriending newcomer Tyler Zeller. And Saturday, the 19-yearold welcomed 50 local kids — some only a year younger than him — to Levels barbershop on Fulton Street, paying out of his pocket for fresh back-to-school haircuts.

Allen — making $1.7 million in his first year out of Texas as the second-youngest Net in history — can afford it.

“It’s me wanting to give back. ... I have the money now, so I might as well give back to the community. [My mother] always wanted me to think about people, so I’ve always been this way,’’ Allen told The Post. “I was thinking how I could give back. And seeing as how my hair is my biggest attribute right now, so what better than a barber shop?”

Allen always has been known for his oldschool Afro reminiscent of Dr. J. Unlike teammate Jeremy Lin’s constantly-changing coiffure, Allen fully intends to keep his Afro. But after his father Leonard had cut his hair all his life, getting a new barber is just one of many adjustments the rookie is making.

Between his status as a first-round pick and joining Timofey Mozgov as one of just two Nets over 6-foot-8, Allen was set to play by default. But Zeller’s signing Tuesday just threw a six-year veteran into the mix. Allen’s reaction? “It was a good reaction,’’ Allen said. “He came in and he was working out, and I became really good friends with him. Anything we can do to add pieces to the team to win, that’s what we have to do, so I didn’t mind it at all. The main goal is to win. I’m going to develop in practice, get all my work in. But right now we should win.”