The Denver Nuggets finally took the first step toward rebuilding Tuesday when they fired head coach Brian Shaw. As first reported by Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, the Nuggets decided to relieve Shaw of his coaching duties after one and a half seasons with the team.
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Whether your believe the fault lies with the coach trying to impose his game plan on the wrong personnel or with the team for not adjusting to their coach, the fact remains that Shaw and the Nuggets were an ugly union in need of an annulment (“divorce” doesn’t quite cut it, we needed a full annulment here).
Where to even begin? From throwing his players under the bus to canceling morning shoot-arounds (which some assumed was to help the players better recover from their hangovers after going out the night before) to the open-to-interpretation “1, 2, 3…six weeks!” break in the huddle, this season has been a nightmare for any self-respecting Nuggets fan.
The season before Shaw came onboard, Denver won 57 games under George Karl and earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs before being upset in the first round. In his one and a half seasons with the Nuggets, Shaw compiled a 56-85 record (.397).
The Nuggets won 57 games in 2012-13. They've won 56 since then.
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) March 3, 2015
The front office never gave Shaw the kind of roster he needed to change the way Denver played, which was the goal after firing George Karl. But Shaw never connected with any of his players and simply wasn’t a good fit. Now the question is, who would be a good fit with this jumbled mess of a roster?
For now, assistant coach Melvin Hunt will step in as the interim head coach as the Nuggets take a long-term approach to their next hiring. Shaw’s predecessor will have the difficult task of proving he can manage a mismanaged roster AND win games once the front office decides how it wants to rebuild.
That being said, some names are already being thrown around as potential candidates to replace Shaw. Here’s a look at the five best coaching candidates for the Denver Nuggets.
Honorable Mention: Adrian Griffin (Chicago Bulls assistant coach) and George Karl (oh wait….)
Next: No. 5