Nobody was more surprised than Hawks veteran power forward Elton Brand when he received the midnight email last July 1 from Knicks president Phil Jackson. Free agency had begun, and Jackson wanted to express his immediate interest and talk to the Westchester native.

“It was at the deadline, at 12:01 a.m., then we spoke that morning,’’ Brand told The Post before the Hawks fell to the Nets at Barclays Center on Monday in Game 4. “It was surprising just because of his stature. It wasn’t surprising of what he was trying to do to rebuild that team and putting in that work. But it was surprising because he is who he is. It was like being in L.A. with the Clippers and all the championships he won when I was there.”

However, later on July 1, tragedy struck. Brand’s mother, Daisy, passed away at age 64 after a battle with stomach cancer. His free-agent focus was put off for a while. The 36-year-old, two-time All Star was very close to his mother, who was a stalwart in the Peekskill community in helping the city’s youth.

A Knicks offer for the veterans’ minimum of $1.4 million was on the table for Brand all summer, but he chose on Sept. 10 to re-sign with Atlanta for a one-year, $2 million deal. Brand said it wasn’t about the money.

“It definitely went down to the wire — the pros and cons,’’ Brand said. “Growing up in Westchester a big fan. It came down to the team. The team at this stage of my career, I knew what we had here, and we had a chance to go a little further. That’s what it came down to at the time.’’

Brand was platooned as a backup power forward during the Hawks’ sensational season but has appeared in just one of the four games, in this series. The coaching staff wants him mostly to be a mentor to the younger players and provide leadership. In fact, that’s also why Jackson was so interested, intrigued by more than his low-post skills for the triangle.

The Knicks have 10 roster spots to fill, and Brand said he hopes to hear from Jackson again. According to a friend of his mother’s, Daisy always hoped Brand would finish his career with the Knicks. Former GM Glen Grunwald also hotly pursued Brand after his strong 2012-13 season in Dallas, but was outbid by the Hawks.

Brand said he also may consider hanging it up after 16 seasons.

“I got to make a decision if I’m going to play and come back,’’ Brand said. “[The Knicks] are definitely on the radar for sure. Yeah, I’m thinking about it. Moving on to something else, but I still also love to play and still feel good. I’m going to look at both options.”

The Hawks have two other free agents on the Knicks radar in All-Star Paul Millsap, who would combine well with Carmelo Anthony, and defensive wiz DeMarre Carroll, who comes much cheaper. Carroll told The Post this month the Knicks and Lakers are two teams many players want to play for.

Last week, Carroll received one vote for Defensive Player of the Year.

“Somebody thinks of me for that honor is pretty good,’’ Carroll said. “It shows my work is finally getting noticed. I want to keep competing at a high level, keep showing I’m an elite defender and hopefully I can make one of those defensive teams.’’