It was obvious that things weren’t going well with Brian Shaw as the head coach of the Denver Nuggets and there was speculation that he would be fired but the Nuggets surprised everyone when it was announced today.
According Yahoo Sports NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Denver Nuggets have fired Brian Shaw. The former NBA player and Phil Jackson protege was hired as the head coach of the Nuggets in 2013 after they fired George Karl. The Karl firing was of course controversial since he had just won Coach of the Year that same season and took the Nuggets to the playoffs every year of his nine-year tenure, including four consecutive 50-win seasons.
Shaw took over and things went down hill. There was major tension between he and Ty Lawson and breakout star Kenneth Faried seemingly plateaued and some would even say regressed. The roster wasn’t quite right and team just looked like a total disaster.
The Nuggets finished with a 36-46 record last season and currently have a 20-39 record giving Shaw a 56-85 overall record in his short time with the team. After less than two seasons to show what he can do, hopefully Shaw gets a chance somewhere else.
The Nuggets are expected to announce Melvin Hunt as the interim coach.