Company News

NEW YORK, November 25, 2020 – The New York Knicks announced today the following hirings: Darren Erman, assistant coach; Aaron Brooks, two-way liaison; Larry Greer, advance scout/assistant coach; Richard Williams, strength and conditioning coach; Reggie Johnson and TJ Zanin, scouts; and Ike Azotam, Christopher Santo and Gabriel Snider, assistant video coordinators. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Erman joins the Knicks as an assistant coach having served as Head Coach of the Maine Red Claws, the NBA G-League team affiliate of the Boston Celtics since 2019. The Red Claws finished third in the Eastern Conference with a 28-14 record, an increase of 19 wins from the previous season. He previously served as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans (2015-18), Boston Celtics (2007-10, 2014-15) and Golden State Warriors (2010-14).  During his time as an NBA assistant, he helped guide the Pelicans in 2017-18 to a 48-34 record, which was the franchise’s most wins since the 2008-09 season. This resulted in a trip to the Conference Semifinals.  During his first stint in Boston, he worked alongside fellow assistant coach Tom Thibodeau and helped guide the Celtics to the 2008 NBA Championship, their first championship since 1986. In Golden State, he helped snap the Warriors five-year playoff drought, achieving their first 50-win season since 1993-94. Prior to coaching Maine, he also served as the Celtics Director of Scouting for the 2014-15 season. He began his coaching career at St. Anthony High School as an assistant coach (2003-05) and then at NCAA Division III Brandeis University as an assistant coach (2005-07). Erman attended Emory University where he was a student coach, graduating in 1997.

Brooks joins the Knicks after recently playing in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks in 2019. He played 10 seasons in the NBA, averaging 9.7 points and three assists over 20.8 minutes in 645 games (183 starts) for Houston, Phoenix, Sacramento, Denver, Chicago, Indiana and Minnesota. He played for Tom Thibodeau in Chicago during the 2014-15 season and in Minnesota during the 2017-18 season. Originally selected 26^th overall by Houston in the 2007 NBA Draft, he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2009-10 after averaging a career best 19.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.6 rebounds over 35.6 minutes in 82 games (all starts). He played collegiately at the University of Oregon for four seasons.

Greer joins the Knicks with over three decades of coaching and scouting experience. He most recently spent one year with the Phoenix Suns as an assistant coach (2019-20). Prior to Phoenix, he spent two years with the Minnesota Timberwolves working under Tom Thibodeau, first as an advance scout (2017-18) and then as an assistant coach (2018-19). Previously, he worked for the Houston Rockets as an advance scout (2005-07) and for the Portland Trail Blazers as an advance scout (2007-10) and assistant coach (2010-12). In between stints with the Suns and the Timberwolves, Greer was an assistant coach at Arizona State University (2012-15) where he helped lead the Sun Devils to consecutive 20-plus win seasons as well as a 2014 NCAA tournament appearance. He started his coaching career as an assistant coach for Brandeis University (1989-1992) before coaching at Boston University (1994-95, 2002-03) and Wright State (2003-05).

Williams joins the Knicks from the Houston Rockets where he spent three seasons as the teams’ Sports Performance Enhancement Specialist (2017-2020). Prior to Houston, Williams spent 13 years with the Los Angeles Clippers (2004-2017) as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. He started his career with the Denver Nuggets in 2002 as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach after graduating from Western State College of Colorado with a degree in Kinesiology/Health Promotion and Wellness.

Johnson joins the Knicks after 25 years with the Dallas Mavericks where he started as a merchandising coordinator before moving into the role of video coordinator from 1997-2004. For the last 16 years, Johnson has worked with the Mavericks as an advance scout. He graduated from Southwest Baptist University in 1992, where he played football and was a two-time member of the All-MIAA conference team.

Zanin joins the Knicks after spending two seasons as the Director of College Scouting for the Charlotte Hornets. Previously, he served as a scout for the Charlotte Hornets (2015-17), Brooklyn Nets (2013-15), Los Angeles Clippers (2010-13) and Philadelphia 76ers (2005-2010). Zanin began his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies, spending three seasons with the team as a video coordinator (2001-05). From 2009-15, Zanin helped guide Team USA to three gold medals during his tenure as scout for USA Basketball. Prior to his time with Team USA, he was a scout for the Chinese National Basketball Team for two years (2006-08), during which China finished within the top eight at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the best in the country’s history. He graduated from West Chester University in 1998 with a degree in business management.