NBA teams
Ian Begley, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Former Phil Jackson assistant hired

NBA, New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have added veteran Jim Cleamons to the coaching staff, a league source confirmed to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne.

Cleamons will serve as an assistant under first-year head coach Derek Fisher and will be reunited with Knicks president Phil Jackson.

Cleamons was an assistant under Jackson with the Chicago Bulls for seven seasons and with the Los Angeles Lakers for 10 seasons. He was an assistant on nine of Jackson's 11 NBA title-winning teams.

He also was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks in 1996-97 and for part of the 1997-98 season. He went 28-70 in Dallas.

Cleamons, whose hire was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, will add another veteran presence on the bench for Fisher. Earlier this summer, the Knicks hired veteran coach Kurt Rambis to serve as the top assistant under Fisher. Both Rambis and Cleamons have a strong grasp of the triangle offense, which Fisher is expected to implement in New York.

Cleamons most recently was an assistant coach in Milwaukee under Larry Drew. Drew was fired and replaced by Jason Kidd in early July.

Before beginning his coaching career, Cleamons also played nine seasons in the NBA for four teams, including 180 games with the Knicks over three seasons.

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