By MARC BERMAN AND BRIAN LEWIS

It’s never a good sign when the star player of your team tells you it’s time to move on.

Wizards star guard Gilbert Arenas admitted he told Jared Jeffries he should sign the Knicks’ $30 million offer sheet last August and run with it. The Wizards, apparently looking ahead to next summer when Arenas can opt out, decided not to match, much to the Knicks’ surprise.

“He knows I’m going to be honest with him,’’ Arenas said before tonight’s game vs. the Knicks. “If they do that, I don’t know if we were going to match it because it’s going to hurt our salary cap. But if you think that’s the right thing for you, you’ve got to go for that.’’

Had Washington matched, they would have soared over the luxury-tax threshold to re-sign Arenas. So far, the Wizards are looking smart. Jeffries said today he is shooting for a mid-December return, which is at least better than Jan. 1. Jeffries was signed to be their small-forward defensive stopper.

Too often the Knicks have to go to an extremely small lineup because of Jeffries’ injury. It’s the lone excuse Isiah has to their 2-6 record.

The Wizards may have matched Jeffries’ but DeShawn Stevenson then fell in their lap for $1 million.

“I know we probably needed him more than they did,” Thomas said.

Jeffries told The Post that the Wizards would have matched but he requested to Washington GM Ernie Grunfeld not to. “They respected my wishes,” Jeffries said.

Washington coach Eddie Jordan was all positive about Jeffries tonight. He even said Jeffries was a beast guarding 7-5 Yao Ming. Unfortunately, Jeffries will miss both Rockets’ meetings. Yao destroyed Eddy Curry for 35 points last Friday and the Rockets play again at the Garden next week.

“He understands the game, he plays with a lot of passion,’’ Jordan said. “He’s a unique player who could matchup up with anybody. Frankly I looked at him playing 5 defense for us coming into this year, if we’d retained him. He doesn’t make mistakes. He guarded Yao as well as anybody on our roster.’’

Meanwhile, Jerome James, wearing a loud white suit and tan shoes, is predicting he’ll be back within a week. He practiced Tuesday for the first time. After some false alarms, I believe him now.