While observers believe the triangle looks more like a triangle under Kurt Rambis, if slower in pace, his stint has been a mixed bag, not enough wins to make him a safe bet to return — as much as Phil Jackson has rooted for it to happen.

Rambis will coach his 25th game Wednesday against Charlotte, and he is sporting an 8-16 record. It’s nothing to celebrate, even if Derek Fisher’s Knicks already were a broken unit by the time Rambis took control Feb. 8.

Rambis hasn’t exactly been the “transformative leader’’ Jackson said he wants in his next coach. Sources have indicated the players don’t respect Rambis with the same vigor as they did Fisher, evidenced by Arron Afflalo’s dissonance and Carmelo Anthony’s lukewarm attitude toward the interim coach.

However, Rambis has brought one overriding intangible that gives him a shot. Rambis breeds continuity and brings Jackson close to the action. That should be of great value, though Jackson may well be sitting on a mystery candidate.

The Rambis-Jackson daily rapport has been unmatched, rarely seen between head coach and president anymore, according to observers. Rambis has no ego. They talk almost every day and have their disagreements. This is what Jackson craved — access and input he could not achieve with the headstrong Fisher running the show. If Rambis returns, Jackson will only get more involved next season, as long as his bionic hips don’t melt.

Can you imagine how angry Jackson became with Fisher, firing his handpicked guy just a season and a half into his five-year deal (four of which were guaranteed)? The communication between the two was severely lacking — exemplified by Fisher flying to Los Angeles after training camp without mentioning it to the Zen Master.

Maybe the TNT crew can ask Gloria Govan’s boyfriend about his refusal to tap into Jackson’s reservoir of expertise when he makes a guest stint on its Thursday night extravaganza.

Things were so bizarre under Fisher that, according to sources, assistant coach/former point guard Jim Cleamons was told to limit his contacts with rookie Jerian Grant. Rambis has given Cleamons free rein to speak with Grant, and he’s showed progress in recent weeks after stagnancy under Fisher.

For those tabbing Tom Thibodeau, who looks even more attractive because of the Fred Hoiberg disaster, it’s not happening. The Knicks also are getting a strong sense that Luke Walton is not leaving the Warriors this soon.

Thibodeau has as much a shot as a Fisher redux. Jackson speaks with Chicago’s Paxson brothers and doesn’t seem impressed with the former Bulls coach, who revels in crisis and chaos. Jackson knows this Knicks organization has had enough of that.

Brian Shaw is a safe triangle choice and would have been the original pick after Steve Kerr bailed had he not been under contract to Denver in May 2014. But Shaw’s failure to relate to players in the Rocky Mountains has not made him a must-get.

“There has to be execution, there has to be precision, player movement, ball movement, and we’ve gotten away from that,” Rambis said when he inherited the reins.

Rambis didn’t have enough practice time, midstream, to get the players to follow all of his new principles. Fisher tried to get into the triangle by using pace. Rambis didn’t think the club had a speedy, heady point guard to get that accomplished, so he slowed it down.

As New Orleans assistant coach Phil Weber noted last week, “That’s not a team that wants to be hurried up.”

“It’s not near where it needs to be, but it is better,” Rambis said Sunday. “Guys are learning to play better out there on the court together. We’re still missing guys that are open.

“The basic principle is you’re supposed to hit the first open guy. Sometimes we abort that, and it disrupts the flow of what we want to do. But you see guys starting to pass, see guys move the basketball. It’s the right attitude. Guys are playing unselfishly. We have really good moments where it’s functioning well, and we have not-so-good moments and it gets haphazard.”

Sasha Vujacic, the former Laker and Rambis pet: “When it’s successful, it’s very fun. Not fun to watch but very effective. We are showing glimpses.”

Vujacic has started over the demoted Afflalo — an event that busted his ego. Afflalo, in turn, has gone out of his way to make Rambis look bad, pretending a lack of communication exists between the two. To rectify the situation, Rambis last week in Dallas met with Afflalo, according to a source, for more than an hour.

Afflalo still won’t give Rambis the benefit of the doubt.

“For me, it’s a willingness to do whatever it takes for the team to win if I feel it’s in the best interest of the team,” Afflalo said. “Me going into my 10th year, having experience in this game, I think I have a good feel on what I can bring to a team. Sometimes you have a difference of opinion on what’s in the best interests for the team.”

Meanwhile, Anthony declared out West that Jackson should interview other candidates when the normal response would have been just to say it’s the team president’s decision.

With four games left, that decision has yet to be made.