The always outspoken Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy took a dig at the Knicks for never giving Patrick Ewing an interview while saying his brother, ahem, could be available this offseason.

Stan Van Gundy says his young brother still would be one of the best coaches in the NBA and has mulled returning to the sidelines from the broadcast booth.

Stan Van Gundy admitted he has no clue how the Knicks now view Jeff despite a recent Garden tribute. Ewing, Stan’s former assistant with the Magic, got his Garden tribute but had to leave the NBA to become a head coach with Georgetown.

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek’s future is very uncertain and Mark Jackson, Van Gundy’s broadcast partner, ironically is viewed as a potential candidate, significantly more so than the former Knicks coach.

Two seasons ago, for the first time, Jeff Van Gundy was put on the Garden videoboard during a game he was working, acknowledging his Knicks coaching tenure. It was the first visible thaw in what had become a cold relationship after Van Gundy infuriated owner James Dolan by quitting on the team early in the 2001-2002 season.

“I used to walk in here and Patrick would be sitting next to me on the bench,’’ Stan Van Gundy said before his Pistons beat the Knicks 115-109 on Saturday at the Garden in a meaningless game for both teams. “They’d put him up on the Jumbotron and everybody would clap and he never got an interview for any freaking job they had.’’

Jeff Van Gundy, who coached the Knicks from 1995-2001, is in San Antonio for ABC’s Sunday broadcast of the Spurs game against the Rockets with partners Mike Breen, MSG Network’s lead broadcaster, and Jackson.

“It would be good to know he was embraced here,’’ said Stan Van Gundy, a graduate of Brockport State. “Even when I’m in town, people say things to me. I think Jeff was always embraced by the fans here. They appreciated what he did, appreciated the way the teams played. As far as people in the organization, I don’t have any idea. It would be great if there was a true appreciation from the organization on things like that, but you never know.’’

In his two stints, Knicks president Steve Mills never worked with Van Gundy, but the two aren’t known to have a strong relationship. GM Scott Perry doesn’t know Van Gundy. It’s been over 10 years since Van Gundy was on an NBA sideline, with the Rockets. He still lives in Houston.

“I don’t have any idea,’’ Stan Van Gundy said. “He thinks about it some. Other times he doesn’t. I don’t know what he’ll decide to do. He certainly has had options to get back if he wanted and he’ll certainly have more.’’

The only Knicks coach since Van Gundy to enjoy any level of success is Mike Woodson, who recorded a 54-28 record in 2012-13. Van Gundy and Woodson stand out even more with the Knicks on the verge of their 50th loss Saturday against the Pistons.

“Jeff’s a helluva coach,’’ said Stan Van Gundy, who has a dual role with Detroit but, sources have indicated, is no sure thing of returning. “Obviously I have a bias, but he’s one of the best in the business. But they had a pretty good big guy at the time if I remember who had some experience [Ewing]. When they went back to Jeff [after firing Don Nelson] they went back to a style of play those players were familiar with. That they played with for a long time.’’

Jeff Van Gundy, whose career coaching record is 430-310, has received glorious reviews for his candid broadcasting.

“It’s incredible to me that in two very visible type of jobs anybody could rise and be at or near the top of two different professions,’’ Stan Van Gundy said. “That’s an incredible achievement in itself. He was one of the best coaches in this league. Ten years later, he’s one of the best broadcasters in the business. That’s not easy to do.”

There is a school of thought that Van Gundy, who was a Team USA coach for the Pan American Games last summer, could have an adjustment in the new age, space-and-pace NBA. With the Knicks and Rockets, Jeff Van Gundy centered his offense around two superstar low-post centers, Ewing and Yao Ming.

In that vein, it strikes a chord as Hornacek took another dig at Phil Jackson’s triangle that won 11 championships, saying Friday it could have hurt free-agent recruitment by continuing with it.

The triangle is blasted in some circles as being against the new school. The triangle is known for setting up long 2-point shots — considered the worst percentage shot in the NBA.

Yet, under Hornacek’s system, the Knicks have taken the fewest 3-pointers in the NBA at 22.9 per game. However, Hornacek noted Trey Burke’s 42-point showing at Charlotte when he made just three 3-pointers.

“He’s not necessarily shooting 3s,’’ Hornacek said. “He’s making the nobody wants people to take. If he’s making the mid-range, he can shoot it all he wants. We always said we want to shoot more 3s. It’s just how are we going to get them. We’ve passed some 3s we should’ve shot. With our point guards like Frank, Emmanuel and Trey putting pressure on the defense, we’ll open up more 3s in the future.’’