ORLANDO — Jeff Hornacek, at no point mentioning Joakim Noah by name, said he wants to specify in recruiting meetings with free-agent centers that the Knicks are going for it now and seek a pivot who won’t be used just as a defensive specialist.
Under NBA rules, Hornacek is not permitted to talk about any free agents by name before July 1.
According to NBA sources, the Knicks plan to meet Friday afternoon with Noah, likely in New York, though they are still trying to lure free agents to meet them in Orlando. They’ve emerged as prohibitive favorites to sign the Bulls free-agent center, who missed most of last season after January shoulder surgery and played just 27 games.
The Post first reported Noah was interested in meeting with the Knicks and the club had the 6-foot-11 center in its crosshairs.
“We have money, we have attractive pieces, the three guys, so I feel pretty confident we’re going to get a good player,’’ Hornacek said Thursday after summer-league practice. “With the addition of Derrick Rose, we have Melo and Kristaps, it’s an attractive place to come. … We got a great crop to work around to help us back into the playoffs.’’
Hornacek said the triangle offense is sweet for a center, and Robin Lopez proved that last season when he emerged as a major low-post option. That is expected to be conveyed to Noah at the meeting as the Knicks look to add a big, scrappy body next to 7-foot-3 forward Kristaps Porzingis. The free-agent recruiting period begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, but the Knicks won’t be burning the midnight oil with Noah.
Hornacek was asked about his sales pitch to the elite centers.
“The biggest thing for the guys is look at some of the main components we have,’’ Hornacek said. “If they know they can go to a team that can win, that helps. We obviously want to solidify the defense from that spot. Robin was a guy who was very good at protecting the basket. We want that. We want a guy who can do it all. You can’t be one-dimensional in this league.
“He’s got to have a little bit of ability whether he can finish underneath, move around, make some midrange shots. We want that ability,’’ Hornacek added. “Not just be a guy who’s going to set picks all the time, but going to be involved a little bit more than a lot of teams in the league. … A lot of those [triangle] aspects, you’re going to have touches and make plays out of it. Maybe in early offense, in the open court, now you can set some picks and roll.”
The Washington Post reported Noah’s Knicks contract could start at $18 million, but that figure may be inflated. Teams such as the interested Wizards appear to have conceded Noah to the Knicks.
The concern with Noah is his durability at age 31 coming off surgery. Noah also had offseason knee surgery in 2014. Hornacek said the Knicks would enter into free agency with the belief their new center can play close to 82 games.
“You’re looking at: ‘Is this guy worth a certain amount of money? Has the guy been healthy? Can he give us 82 games? Can he give us 40 games?’’’ Hornacek said. “That’s all in the consideration weighing the options. You don’t want guys who are big question marks. You do the background check with medical guys, try to make the best guess if he’s over an injury. If the guy does have an injury, what his health will be moving forward?’’
The Knicks finished third-worst in the Eastern Conference last season at 32-50, a 15-game improvement from the 17-65 disaster of 2014-15. But Hornacek believes the Rose trade ended the perception they’re rebuilding around the young Porzingis.
“You always want to win,’’ Hornacek said. “New York, Los Angeles, they’re not markets [where you think], ‘OK, you’re going through a rebuilding process.’ You have the ability to spend the money [in] what I think are attractive cities to go to. They’re always on the win-now thought process.’’