Newcoach needs a bit of Zen
Brian Shaw has two things going for him that George Karl does not. After being hired as coach of the Nuggets, Shaw has Karl’s old job on the team’s bench.
What else? Well, would it be relevant to mention Shaw owns five— count ’em, five— NBA championship rings.
“I feel like I’ve waited and paid my dues,” Shaw told The Denver Post on Monday, after he beat out former Memphis coach Lionel Hollins to fill a vacancy created by the controversial firing of Karl.
Shaw won three rings as a player and two as an assistant coach. He wrapped himself in all that glory as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
So maybe the most impressive lines on Shaw’s résumé are more a credit to Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson, the NBA legends Shaw backed up as a player and coach.
Nevertheless, on the first day of training camp, Shaw should gather his Denver players for a little showand-tell. Show the Nuggets his five rings. Tell them he knows what it takes to win it all.
As gurus go, Jackson is a good choice. Shaw seeks the advice of the Zen Master, who guided the Chicago Bulls and Lakers to 11 championships, on a regular basis.
Why not leverage that relationship? The Nuggets and Shaw would be wise to tap the expertise of Jackson, whether it’s as a visitor to practice or a front-office consultant.
Shaw has an extensive background in the triangle offense. But it would be foolish trying to shove that triangle in the square hole that are the bad hands and poor offensive instincts
possessed by Denver centers JaValeMcGee, Kosta Koufos and Timofey Mozgov.
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke is 33 years old. New general manager Tim Connelly is 36. At age 47, Shaw is a rookie head coach. Is this leadership team a little green? No doubt.
But the energy level will be amped up, and it promises to be a refreshing change from Karl’s tired, back-in-the-day lectures about respecting the game that had to be met with more than one eye roll in the Denver locker room with frequent retelling.
It’s not X’s and O’s that wins in the NBA. It’s talent.
For better or worse, the Nuggets are bent on growing their own superstar. Can Ty Lawson become one of the top five point guards in the league? With more refinement to his offensive game and more sound defensive play with his feet on the floor, could there be an all-star appearance in the future for forward Kenneth Faried? And will McGee ever resemble a center worthy of his $10 million salary?
How well Shaw diagrams plays during a timeout won’t make or break him as a Nuggets coach.
Shaw will be graded as a teacher.
He learned to teach at the right hand of Jackson.
If the new Nuggets coach can turn McGee into a center known more for his scoring and rebounding than his headscratching turnovers and his Internet platypus pranks, then there’s more than a little Zen Master in Shaw.