Whether it’s winning the draft lottery, or signing Kevin Durant and a star companion, or making trades to ease into their massive salary-cap space, Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry won’t back off from the giant optimism displayed in a recent letter to season-ticket holders.

“I firmly believe [in] what we’re doing, and we’re going to get there,’’ Perry told The Post on Wednesday. “One way or another, we’re going to get there.”

In a joint interview with The Post while breaking a 10-week media silence, Mills sounded like he can taste the pandemonium that would hit the city if the Knicks rise from being the NBA’s worst team in 2018-19 to a contender.

“When I sat with my wife and daughter and watched the Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals, I said this is nothing compared to what would happen when the Knicks get to The Finals,’’ Mills told The Post.

Mills and Perry aren’t counting their chickens yet, but there’s a genuine feeling that despite their awful 17-65 record this season under coach David Fizdale, the Knicks put themselves back on the map as a player’s destination. Mills noted that, in exit interviews, every single player expressed a desire to return — one even for less money.

Durant, who displays a body language of a player who would like a new start in a new city where he could lead a new team, appears a decent bet to wind up as a Knick.

“This is New York City,’’ Perry said. “It’s the greatest city in the world. There’s a lot of appeal here. Even though the team has struggled, it’s a definite attraction to becoming a player in this city who can help turn this organization around. I think that’s something that gives us excitement that it’s out there — the storied nature of this franchise and what the franchise meant to the NBA that still resonates.”

The Knicks should have about $74 million in cap space, and that should be enough to squeeze in Durant and a point-guard stud — either Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker, both of whom have deep local ties. The expectations skyrocketed after the Knicks traded disgruntled Kristaps Porzingis in late January because he wanted out. The deal opened up the required cap space for two studs.

“We’re hopeful and we’re excited,’’ Mills said. “We’re excited because now we’re in position. There’s a lot of noise and a lot of guys are interested in New York. They like Fiz. They like some of the changes we made in the organization. We hear that from agents. We read it from guys getting interviewed about what guys feel about the Knicks. We hear that from other players. At least we’re in the game, and hopeful something really good happens. But we won’t know until it happens.

“It also gives us the opportunity that if things don’t happen in free agency, we’re sticking to our plan. We’re not going to sign the wrong players just because we have room and the fans have great expectations. They should have expectations we make the right decisions. It gives us the opportunities to eventually explore trades and take guys into [that] room.”

In fact, Perry didn’t discount the possibility of trading the Knicks’ pick even if it’s in the top three. It is not considered a deep draft but has gem Zion Williamson at the top. The Knicks’ pick could be in play for any Anthony Davis trade on draft night, as New Orleans staged talks with the Knicks before this season’s trade deadline.

“Once the draft process plays out, your phone rings a lot of times,’’ Perry said. “I can’t sit here and tell you exactly what would happen in that scenario.

“We’ll be able to find a player that can help us get better,’’ Perry added. “To what degree, we’ll see.’’

Mills and Perry did wave caution flags at the notion KD is a “done deal’’ — as some prognosticators have said.

“Our vision is eventually is to become a championship-caliber team,’’ Perry said. “All our planning has that in mind. We’re not going to look at this summer as the end-all or be-all, per say. We’re excited to be in the game. We’re not going to go off the rails if we don’t get what you’re talking about. We’ll be very comfortable with the draft and what we can add via trade to be a better basketball team.”

Privately, Mills has been steadfast about not signing big contracts to players who are not franchise difference-makers.

“The worst thing we can do is react to doing the wrong thing because we’re disappointed something didn’t happen exactly the way we want it to happen this summer,’’ Mills said. “That could be thing that could derail us from doing what we committed to our fans, what I committed to Jim [Dolan, owner] in how I would build this team.”

Though Fizdale seemed to create a connection to his players, it didn’t translate to victories with his in-game coaching. Nevertheless, Mills praised Fizdale for sticking to development and not veering to protect his record.

“We were really satisfied with his first year,’’ Mills said. “A big part of what we were hiring him to do was connect with our players, develop accountability, make sure they were getting better, establish an identity of working. He did a really good job of it.

“The hardest thing for coaches when they’re going through a losing season like this is let the record get in the way of what you are asked from the front office to do. Seventeen wins and 65 losses, they’re his. He owns those for the rest of his career. He can’t walk away from it. To buy in is a testament to him.”