Patrick Ewing could not resist offering a little freelance mentoring.

He could have held a grudge against the team that had beaten him for the 1994 NBA championship when he was with the Knicks. He could have considered the Rockets no more than an opposing team and Yao Ming someone else's responsibility.

But Ewing had seen enough of Yao to know he had something to offer. As a first-year assistant coach with the Wizards, Ewing twice pulled Yao aside to offer a few words of advice.

Now he will not have to stop at just a few words.

Ewing agreed to terms Wednesday to become a Rockets assistant, reuniting the 11-time NBA All-Star center with his former Knicks coach, Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy's former assistants with the Knicks, Steve Clifford and advance scout Andy Greer signed, with the Rockets on Wednesday, and assistant coach Tom Thibodeau also agreed to a contract.