There was a time, not so long ago, when the Knicks were radioactive.

When star players viewed the combustible franchise with distaste.

When they simply didn’t have a shot at such players.

From LeBron James and Kevin Durant to Kyrie Irving, the Knicks missed on franchise-changers.

After two trips to the playoffs in three years under coach Tom Thibodeau, and a young roster of developing players, that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore.

Just last summer, Donovan Mitchell wanted to be a Knick, although he wound up with the Cavaliers after the Knicks and Jazz couldn’t agree on a trade.

“I think what has shifted from being an agent, from being in the league, there was a time where I felt like people may not have wanted to play in that city, and I think that’s changed,” ESPN analyst and former Warriors general manager Bob Myers said on a Monday Zoom call. “I think now you’re looking at murmurings, hearing things, ‘Hey, what about the Knicks and the draft capital they have?’ It’s a realistic thing, right. It’s not just some layperson saying, ‘Well, the Knicks should go get this guy.’ Now it’s viable. It’s possible. They have what it takes with the first-round picks in their cabinet to go do it. They have got a lot of good, young players on pretty affordable contracts.”

The Knicks, as Myers noted, certainly have the assets.

They are flush with first-round picks and young players.

So far, team president Leon Rose has been patient, waiting for the right piece to emerge.

So far, that hasn’t happened yet.

A Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t become available.

Others, like Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell, could be possibilities down the road.

But it is clear that for the Knicks to take the next step, a mega-move has to happen.

They were good enough last year to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals, where the Knicks lost to the Heat in six games.

Getting past that point as currently constituted may not be realistic.

“The next thing they do, I think, will define them over the next four or five years,” said Myers, a two-time NBA Executive of the Year who led the Warriors to four NBA crowns. “I think that they want to go from good to great. They are good and trying to get to great, and that’s probably harder than going from bad to good, which I think they have already done.

“So now the question is: How do you get from that, you know, 4-5 seed to the 1-2 seed, and that’s going to be the challenge for them.”

Myers doesn’t believe it has to be a superstar, but someone who moves the needle and fits the roster.

With the Warriors, Andre Iguodola helped transform that team and was the 2015 NBA Finals MVP.

Of course, those Warriors already had Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and after winning that first title, Kevin Durant joined them following the 2015-16 season.

“It doesn’t maybe have to be that superstar, but you hope you get something that unlocks everyone else or amplifies the rest of your team,” Myers said. “And I think the Knicks have been patient, and at least they haven’t done anything irrational in my mind. They haven’t had a big misstep where you would say, ‘Hey, look, they blew it on the wrong guy and that can set you back for years.’

“So, I think there has to be a healthy amount of impatience but not imprudence, and so I think that’s what the Knicks are looking at.”