NEW YORK -– New York Knickerbockers President Phil Jackson announced today additions to the coaching staff, including assistant coaches Jim Cleamons, Rasheed Hazzard and Brian Keefe and assistant coach, player development Joshua Longstaff. Per team policy, terms of the deals will not be disclosed.
Cleamons rejoins the Knicks organization with over 30 years of coaching experience and 10 NBA championships to his name. The 64-year-old Lincolnton, NC joined the Chicago Bulls staff in 1989, staying seven seasons, and the Los Angeles Lakers staff for 10 seasons, winning nine NBA titles along the way. He served as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks for parts of two seasons (1996-98), the ABL’s Chicago Condors (1998-99) and China’s Zhejiang Guangsha (2011-12). He had also been an assistant coach for New Orleans (2004-05), and most recently, Milwaukee (2013-14). The Ohio State-alum played in the NBA for 10 seasons with the Lakers, Cleveland, New York and Washington, winning an NBA title as a rookie in Los Angeles in 1972. He signed with the Knicks on Oct. 7, 1977, playing three seasons in New York, averaging 7.4 points in 180 games.
Hazzard spent five seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers (2006-11), including as a member of NBA Championship teams in 2009 and 2010, working in player development and as an advance scout, and also as an assistant coach for the D-Fenders, the Lakers’ D-League affiliate. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at University of Portland after playing collegiately at George Washington University. His father Walt, was a member of UCLA’s 1964 NCAA Championship Team and played in the NBA for 10 seasons with the Lakers, Seattle, Atlanta, Buffalo and Golden State earned an NBA All-Star selection in 1968.
Keefe had been a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder organization for the past seven seasons, serving as an assistant coach for the last five years. He joined the Thunder in 2007 as a player development coach after two seasons as an assistant video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs, including the NBA Championship team on 2007. Prior to his NBA career, Keefe was an assistant coach at Bryant University for four seasons (2001-05) and a graduate assistant at the University of South Florida (2001-01). He played college basketball at Nevada-Las Vegas and California-Irvine for two seasons each.
Longstaff had spent the last four seasons working for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a player development role and as a video analyst. Previously, he coached high school basketball for five seasons in his home state of Maine and played college basketball at Bryant University.