NBA 2015 News, Rumors: Denver Nuggets Fire Coach Brian Shaw, Melvin Hunt Takes Over as Interim Coach
The Denver Nuggets fired head coach Brian Shaw Tuesday and the position was reportedly taken over by assistant coach Melvin Hunt.
According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, the 48-year-old was relieved from his coaching duties with the Nuggets on Tuesday. Replacing him is Hunt, who will take over the team for the remainder of the season.
"I want to sincerely thank Brian for his time with our organization," Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said in a statement. "You won't find a better guy than Brian and he is one of the brightest basketball minds I've ever been around."
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"Unfortunately things didn't go as we hoped, but we know with his basketball acumen that he has a very bright future ahead of him," he continued.
Hired in June 2013 as replacement for then the reigning NBA Coach of the Year George Karl, Shaw brought the franchise a record of 56-85 (.397) wins before his exit this week.
Media outlets speculated that Shaw lost the respect of his players on Monday when described the team as a "laughing stock."
Speaking during his team's morning practice, Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks said that Shaw didn't expect the firing coming too soon.
"This wasn't anything, I don't think, he saw coming," Kidd told ESPN. "It's unfortunate what happened with B-Shaw, being one of my mentors as a player and also a good friend."
Hunt is currently in his fifth season working with Shaw in Nuggets following his move from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Competing for championships is our goal, and therefore we decided to make this decision now and look forward to conducting an extensive head coaching search upon the season's conclusion," Connelly said.
