The New York Knicks are currently the only team in the NBA who are on the market for a coach. They fired their head coach, Tom Thibodeau, who recently penned them a beautiful farewell. But the 67-year-old’s touching gesture aside, this decision has left the Knicks scrambling to fill the void. But as they look everywhere for a worthy replacement, the adversity they’re facing may actually work in their favor!

So far, the Knicks have gone after several high-profile coaches. Mavs head coach Jason Kidd is the most high-profile among them. For the last few days, we heard that they were looking to ask the Mavs for permission to interview Kidd. However, the Knicks didn’t stop at just their former player. ClutchPoints‘ Kris Pursiainen revealed that they had gone after 4 more NBA coaches.

“Knicks have requested permission to interview Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, Jason Kidd, Quin Snyder, and Billy Donovan for their coaching vacancy. All requests were denied,” he revealed. But Kris added why he thought the Knicks were doing this. “NY just doing their due diligence here. Also a way to decipher other teams’ intentions, collect some intel,” he wrote on X.

These teams denying the Knicks’ request outright makes one thing clear—they still have full faith in their coaches. After all, Chris Finch has now taken the Minnesota Timberwolves to 2 consecutive Western Conference Finals. On the other hand, Ime Udoka seems to be doing great as long as he doesn’t face the Golden State Warriors in the postseason. And as for Jason Kidd? Well, it seems the Dallas Mavericks are hoping that he will re-sign with them soon, according to The Athletic‘s Sam Amick and Christian Clark.

But even as the Knicks scramble to find the next person to lead them next season and eventually to their first NBA Championship after 1973, their past ties haven’t entirely faded. In the same vein, ex-head coach Tom Thibodeau penned a heartwarming farewell.

Former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau pens lovely farewell to fans

For five years, Tom Thibodeau led the New York Knicks. And it was under his leadership that they made their deepest Playoff run in the last 25 years, reaching the Conference Finals. But alas, it wasn’t enough for the front office — they wanted a chip. And out went Thibs. It was a shock, not only to the veteran head coach but to the entire fanbase.

But it seems Thibs is holding no grudges despite all this. And just over a week after his shocking firing, Thibs showed his class with a full-page ad in Wednesday’s The New York Times titled, “Thank You.” And you can probably guess what the ad was about from its headline.

“To the best city in the world with the best fans in the world: Thank you. When I was hired in 2020, I said this was my dream job. I am grateful that dream became a reality. Thank you to our players and coaching staff who gave everything they had, and to everyone who makes this franchise special,” read his ad. But as he thanked the organization, Thibs didn’t forget about the Knicks faithful: “And to the fans, thank you for believing in me and embracing me from day one.”

Once wasn’t enough, so we’ll say it again — this was pure class from Thibs. And it speaks to his character that he would run a full-page ad just to thank the organization that fired him. This just goes to show why he’s one of the league’s most well-respected coaches.

Speaking of well-respected coaches, though, the Knicks’ options seem to be running out. After all, it’s not easy replacing someone with Tom Thibodeau’s caliber. But their hunt goes on. Perhaps they could look at coaxing Michael Malone to leave his new analyst gig and join their ranks. Who knows? The only thing that’s a guarantee is that this offseason will be a whirlwind of rumors and speculation for Knicks fans before their new head coach is confirmed.