And yet the owner did a deep dive on the coach’s imperfections, invited himself to player and staff exit interviews, and decided the Knicks had crashed into their ceiling. Thibodeau was deeply wounded over the loss of the only job he ever really wanted.

The Garden’s position is that Rose decided with Dolan’s full support. The team president had protected the coach from the antsy owner a couple of times in past seasons, but when it was clear last spring that Dolan was moving back in that direction, Rose was done stepping in front of the bus. Ditto for another longtime Thibs ally, Jalen Brunson.

The New York Knicks have shown interest in hiring current Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla after Tom Thibodeau’s firing.

That recently changed. Tom Thibodeau spent a couple of days around the Thunder. He attended this past Thursday's practice, where he was spotted talking to Isaiah Hartenstein. And he was at Paycom Center when Ousmane Dieng hit a game-winner in their preseason finale on Friday.