The Denver Nuggets fired Brian Shaw, and neither Kevin Garnett nor David West is okay with it.
West played under Shaw while he was an assistant with the Indiana Pacers. Shortly after the news broke on Tuesday, he was asked to respond.
And so he did.
Per Vigilant Sports’ Scott Agness:
David West on Brian Shaw being fired: "That's bullshit. No grownups on the roster. You can't win without grownups."
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) March 3, 2015
But David, how do you really feel?
Oh, never mind. Garnett will just speak for the both of you.
From Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press:
KG on DEN:"They quit on Brian Shaw, I thought they'd quit again. A quitter is a quitter."
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) March 5, 2015
Shiiiiiiiiiiit.
It’s interesting to see and hear such support for a relatively inexperienced head coach who was guiding a Denver team 19 games under .500 at the time of his exit. It really speaks to how players—especially ones, like West, whom he’s coached—view him, to how highly they regard him.
That is, if they’re graying veterans.
The Nuggets were and remain, for the most part, a young team. Shaw had trouble connecting with them from the jump, and things mushroomed for the worse this season. He frequently berated his players, questioning their effort and will, and he basically admitted to being lost when it came to communicating with those he’s supposed to help mentor.
And while that’s Shaw’s fault, the Nuggets never gave him a real chance, with the players he needed, to succeed. They brought him in to slow things things down, to engender more traditional tenets and transform the team into a post-oriented, grind-it-out squadron. That’s something he never did.
Because he couldn’t.
Shaw never had the requisite personnel to slow things down, so he adjusted, allowing the Nuggets to play with top-five pace, per NBA.com, without prioritizing the importance of interior scoring. That, though, was never his style, and he was left outside his comfort zone for almost two years, never once receiving the personnel he needed to actualize Denver’s misappropriated vision.
Sure, it’s ultimately on the coach to make things work. And yes, Shaw struggled to lay down a long-term philosophy that further complemented the talent on hand. But his reach as a tactician isn’t on himself. The Nuggets knew who they hired and what he could do, so it’s not just Shaw on the hook for this dissolved relationship.
Mistakes were made all around, even by the players, whose halfhearted efforts rubbed Garnett and West the wrong way and, to a degree, absolved Shaw of some blame, ensuring he’ll get another coaching opportunity elsewhere, be it as an assistant or, eventually, head honcho.
