Tom Thibodeau offers sincere appreciation for Knicks and New York in full-page newspaper ad

Tom Thibodeau has spoken publicly for the first time since his firing by the New York Knicks following a special season ending with an Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Indiana Pacers. Thibodeau bought a full-page ad in Wednesday's New York Times and addressed his departure with a heartfelt message to those who supported him.

"To the best city in the world with the best fans in the world: Thank you," Thibodeau wrote. " 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. I am proud of everything we accomplished together, including four playoff appearances and this year's run to the Eastern Conference finals -- our first in 25 years.

"And to the fans, thank you for believing in me and embracing me from day one. Watching you support our team, and seeing the Garden ignite with that incomparable Knicks energy, is something I'll never forget."

According to reports, lineup usage abnormalities with star players and an overall failure to get the most out of a talented roster were leading reasons why the Knicks moved on despite the franchise's first conference finals appearance in 25 years.  

According to ESPN and SNY, a meeting between players and front office personnel after the season sparked doubts about Thibodeau's overall coaching acumen, and those data points were part of what fueled the franchise's move in a new direction with a decision spearheaded by team owner James Dolan and president Leon Rose.

"Entire Knick[s] roster had strong respect/admiration for Tom Thibodeau," SNY's Ian Begley wrote on X. "Players interviewed this week in assessment spoke respectfully of Thibodeau while also pointing out areas that needed to change/improve. That feedback factored into Thibs ouster."

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson acknowledged Thibodeau's impact on Instagram this week. Both of Brunson's All Star appearances came under Thibodeau the last two seasons and he was one of the NBA's leaders in minutes played during the postseason.

That was part of the problem from management, however. Three different Knicks ranked high among the the NBA's leaders in most minutes played, including Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively.

Earlier this season, Bridges asked Thibodeau to go to his bench more often to save energy for starters.

"Sometimes it's not fun on the body," Bridges told the New York Post. "You'll want that as a coach but also talked to him a little bit knowing that we've got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don't need to play 48 [minutes], 47."

New York's search for a new coach is underway and Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks is reportedly one of the franchise's top targets. Previous intel suggested the Knicks had interest in Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets, but the competing franchise shut down those fascinations quickly.

Dallas has not responded to publicly to New York's inquiries about Kidd.