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Denver Nuggets: 5 Best Candidates To Replace Brian Shaw

By Gerald Bourguet

Dec 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 109-106. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 109-106. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 18, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; ESPN analyst Sage Steele (left) talks with analyst Avery Johnson (right) courtside before the second half of a game game between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Miami won 97-94. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Avery Johnson

Despite being the NBA’s closest thing to Christopher Walken, Avery Johnson is a former NBA Coach of the Year winner and according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, he joins Mike D’Antoni and Alvin Gentry as potential candidates for Shaw’s replacement:

During the 2005-06 season, Johnson led the Dallas Mavericks to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance. The Mavs lost that series to Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, and Johnson was eventually fired after the 2007-08 season when Dallas was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Johnson also served as the head coach of the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets for two and a half seasons before he was fired and replaced by P.J. Carlesimo. Despite his 60-116 record with the Nets, Johnson’s win percentage as an NBA head coach is still .577.

As a player, Johnson spent three seasons (in two stints) with the Denver Nuggets. He’s proven he can win with enough talent on the roster … but that might be the problem with hiring him to coach this team. Outside of Ty Lawson, Jusuf Nurkic and maybe Kenneth Faried, can you really say anyone on the Nuggets’ current roster is “talented?”

Next: No. 3

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