Brendan Malone's tenure as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers ended late Thursday, when he signed a contract to rejoin the New York Knicks in a similar capacity.

It's a return to roots for Malone, who'll rejoin the franchise he left three years ago to join Isiah Thomas' staff. He will be reunited with his son Mike, an assistant coach/advance scout, and Knicks coach Don Chaney, whom he worked for in Detroit in the 1990s.

Malone saw it as an opportunity to return home.

"That's the bottom line for me," Malone said Friday. "I'm a New Yorker; this is home for me.