Just when you thought signing forward Luka Samanic to a two-way contract was a maneuver Knicks president Leon Rose aced before the season began, that deal is turning out rotten — like everything else in Big Apple basketball.

Because of a sore left heel, the 6-foot-10 Samanic, the Spurs’ first-round pick in 2019, has played in just one game in nearly two months for the G-League Westchester Knicks.

The 22-year-old Croatian, who has been out for 5 ¹/₂ weeks, last played on Jan. 7, when he put up 26 points.

The Westchester Knicks said the timetable for his return still remains “day to day.”

Samanic, who was cut by the Spurs late in training camp, was named G-League Player of the Week on Dec. 7. He is a scintillating inside-outside threat.

He has played in just eight of Westchester’s 27 games (which includes the “Showcase” games and regular-season games).

He’s averaging 27.6 points on 39 percent shooting from 3-point range and 54 percent overall. When the Knicks needed live bodies and were allowed to sign replacement players, Samanic was unavailable due to his injury.

The Knicks’ season was slipping away as they hosted the Nets on Wednesday in their last game before the All-Star break, so there could be a movement to play prospects and tank for a better draft pick.

Whether the Knicks would consider cutting Samanic and signing another young two-way prospect is undetermined. The normal rule of prohibiting two-way players after Jan. 15 was abolished for this season.

The Knicks filled up their last 15-man roster spot earlier this week by inking point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who has yet to play and has just finished rehabbing from an ankle injury.

If the Knicks fall further behind in the standings after the All-Star break, there could be a movement from management to ask coach Tom Thibodeau to employ a youth movement — starting rookie Miles McBride at point guard, and giving Obi Toppin and rookie center Jericho Sims a larger runway.

That hasn’t occurred because the play-in tournament gives more teams a shot. The Knicks entered Wednesday’s action 2 ¹/₂ games out of the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. The seventh through 10th seeds will engage in the play-in to qualify for the playoffs.

The Knicks are 8 ½ games out of the No. 6 hole — which would afford automatic entry into the playoffs. Last season, the Knicks finished fourth in the East.

There’s a lot to blame for the significant free-fall, and Rose is one of the major culprits. He went into the summer with a league-high cap space and crapped out.

Rose’s free-agent signings have turned sour. The all-new backcourt of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier has been underwhelming.

Re-signing Nerlens Noel to a 3-year, $32 million package has proved to be a disaster. The center was out again versus the Nets with a sore knee and has played just 25 games.

Even re-upping for three years with Derrick Rose has not been ideal as he has been out since mid-December after undergoing ankle surgery.

The re-signing of Alec Burks has worked out and he has been a valuable contributor, but it may have come at the expense of bringing back last season’s starting shooting guard, Reggie Bullock, whom Thibodeau had called the “heart and soul’’ of the Knicks because of his defense.