The Denver Nuggets are now searching for a new head coach. They fired Brian Shaw yesterday after a 20-39 start. This isn’t a surprise. The Nuggets are the third worst team in the Western Conference. Let’s take a look at Brian Shaw’s tender with the Nuggets.
The Nuggets’ job became available after the 2012-2013 season. George Karl was fired after leading the Denver Nuggets to a 57-25 record that season and named NBA Coach of the Year. What cost Karl his job was another first-round playoff exit. The Nuggets under Karl made the playoffs nine straight seasons. Karl was fired because in those nine playoff appearances only once did Denver make it past the first round. That was in the 2008-2009 season when they went all the way to the Western Conference Finals and lost to the L.A. Lakers. Nuggets’ management decided it was time to move on.
Shaw on was hired June 25, 2013. Shaw played point guard in the NBA 15 seasons with seven different teams. He won three NBA championships with the L.A. Lakers. He retired after the 2002-2003 season. After retiring from basketball, he joined the Lakers staff as an assistant coach in the 2005-2006 season. The Lakers went on to win two more NBA championships. Shaw coached in L.A. for seven seasons until the end of the 2011 season. From 2011 to 2013, he joined the Indiana Pacers as an assistant coach.
In the summer of 2013, the Nuggets narrowed their coaching search to, two names, Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw. Hollins had been fired by Memphis after a 56-26 season. The Nuggets hired Shaw for his first NBA head coaching job. The Nuggets were hoping he would bring the triangle offense he learned from Phil Jackson to Denver.
In Shaw’s first year the Nuggets went 36-46. This year has been a different story. They had two, six game skids and a seven game losing streak.
Has it been all Brian Shaw’s fault? The Nuggets’ players never seemed to buy into his coaching style. He even told management that some players weren’t mature and he questioned the professionalism of his team. Management told him it was his issue to deal with it. Upper management didn’t have his back.
The final straw with Brian Shaw occurred this week. Nuggets’ players were saying “1-2-3- 6 weeks” in the huddle. Sports experts thought this meant the players had six weeks until the end of the season. Shaw said it meant they hadn’t won a home game in six weeks. Whatever the reason Shaw is out in Denver. Melvin Hunt will be the interim head coach the rest of the season.
There are a few coaches interested in the job. One coach is Mike D’Antoni who coached Denver in the lockout-shortened 1999 season. Another candidate is Avery Johnson who played in Denver in 1990 and the 2001-2002 season. Other coaches Denver may consider include Golden State Warriors assistant head coach Alvin Gentry, former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson, and Vinny Del Negro. Del Negro has head coaching experience with the Chicago Bulls and the L.A. Clippers.
Who should the next head coach of the Denver Nuggets be?
I really don’t have any idea who should be the coach but I learned a lot from this blog. I hope they choose someone older with major maturity.
If they want a coach with playoff experience Mark Jackson is the guy.