Former NBA coach Sam Mitchell hired as assistant under Penny Hardaway

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Penny Hardaway has finalized his coaching staff at Memphis by hiring veteran NBA coach Sam Mitchell.

Hardaway said in a statement Thursday that Mitchell is a veteran who has coached at the game's highest levels.

Mitchell, 54, joins Mike Miller and Tony Madlock as assistants. Mitchell played 13 seasons in the NBA with Minnesota and Indiana, including 59 playoff games. He started coaching as an assistant with Milwaukee in 2002 and also worked as an assistant coach with New Jersey and Minnesota. He was hired as Toronto's head coach in 2004 and was named NBA coach of the year for the 2006-07 season.

He was Minnesota's interim coach in 2015-16 when Flip Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkins' Lymphoma and stayed in that role after Saunders' death a month later.