First Round Draft Preview – NHL-Style; Blue Jackets Have Options at #4
June 25, 2010While We’re Waiting: Zone Blocking, End of an Era?, Footy Fun, and Burnin’ Stones
June 26, 2010The Los Angeles Lakers have won yet another NBA Championship. And while a lot of attention will be focused on their head coach Phil Jackson as he allegedly contemplates retirement, assistant coach Brian Shaw has been given permission to talk to the Cleveland Cavaliers about their currently vacant head coaching position.
The Orange County Register reports that Shaw and the Cavs will have a face-to-face meeting next week. After several seasons with the Lakers, Shaw would likely be considered for the head coaching job if Jackson were to leave. However, former Laker Byron Scott – also on the Cavaliers’ radar – is rumored to be the top contender for the position in the event that Jackson does call it quits.
“They did call a couple of days ago and we did grant permission,” Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “Now it’s up to Brian and Cleveland. All of our coaches’ contracts run out at the end of the month anyway, so it is accurate.”
The 43-year-old Shaw reportedly spoke to Cavs officials this week and will make the trip within the next several days. Well-versed in the triangle offense, Shaw has learned under arguably the winningest coach in NBA history. While Shaw may or may not be the big splash that Dan Gilbert was hoping to make, there is no doubt that he has a history of winning both as a player (three times) and an assistant coach (twice).
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Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
43 Comments
Yep this makes sense another first time coach promoted from being an assistant. I don’t think any of the professional sports teams will ever be able to bring in a bonafide proven head coach.
the Professional National Football League Cleveland Browns brought in bonafide proven head coach Mike Holmgren to run the organizaiton.
/argument trounce’d
nice spelling on “organization”
/grammar check’d
I would be happy with Shaw as the Cavs’ coach. He worked with the best in the NBA as an assistant and played in the NBA.
I saw Shaq saw on Twitter a while ago “@The_Real_Shaq: I think brian shaw should get interviewed for that cleveland cavaliers job, he’s really good.” Whether or not Shaq is on the team next year, he’s seen a lot of coaches in his time, and I’d like to think he knows a good coach from a bad coach.
Of course, I asked Windy about it on Twitter, and in true Windy fashion, he didn’t reply. Curious to see where this goes. I kinda like this a lot better than the Byron Scott angle.
Deja vu weren’t the same things said about Mike Brown?
prefer Scott, but whatever. I have very little optimism at this point. Nice that they are gonna talk and all, but no coach is gonna be hired until Lebron leaves, er, makes up his mind.
This will all end badly…
@6 – I think the fact that Shaw played in the NBA makes a big difference and gives him a perspective Mike Brown never had.
@7
If Phil leaves and Scott gets the Lakers job, then I definitely think Shaw will take the Cavs job if offered. If Phil decides to stay, Shaw may wait it out another year or two for the Lakers job.
@ 10
the only problem being that if Phil does stay, expect Scott to wait out the extra year as well.
no reason to slum up the Cavs job if his dream job is only another year away.
Good coaches have to come from somewhere. At one point, even Jackson has no experience. I understand not wanting to hire someone unproven, but there are only so many proven coaches to go around, and if you can’t get one, someone who worked with one for years is really the best way to go. By all accounts, none of the “experienced, proven coaches” want to come to Cleveland; they can’t just not hire a coach.
I like Shaw. Comes from a dynasty. Learned under one of the greatest NBA coaches. Kinda resembles Mr. Potato Head. Probably wears polos underneath sweater vests with khakis shorts and tennis shoes to press conferences. More than likely giggles like a stoner when a 6 foot guard pulls off a dunk in a playoff game….
Crap.
@11 – I agree. Phil staying may very well keep both Scott and Shaw from taking the Cavs job, regardless of whether Lebron stays or goes.
I’d be happy to get Shaw. He won a championship as a player and two as an assistant coach. Prefer Scott, though.
There are 4 NBA coaches who have proven something Mike Brown did not prove, and it looks like 2 of them are retiring.
One of the remaining two ain’t budging, and the other is a humongous long shot (I think worth a look, however).
Considering what’s available, I’d give Shaw an offer – a short leash offer, but an offer.
@14 ditto
our best hope is for Phil to retire so one of those two can fill that spot and get the other one here.
Kelvin Sampson = towel officially thrown in.
Kelvin Sampson would be the doomsday scenario.
Shamrock, coaches have to come from somewhere. Everyone can’t have headcoaching experience in the NBA. And every coach that is being promoted from assistant does not automatically end up like Mike Brown.
I prefer Shaw over Scott. In case people forgot, Scott had the entire Nets team hating him so much they had a player mutiny in the middle of the season to get him fired. Fired in the middle of the season. That’s a tough thing to pull off for a supposedly “proven” coach. But wait, HE GOT FIRED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON AGAIN??!?!?!? Such a major red flag for me. Owners/GMs hate to fire coaches mid-season. You only do it if something is seriously wrong in the locker room. Something has seriously been wrong in the locker at both of Scott’s stops and I have no reason to believe it wouldn’t happen here too.
@Matt2…are you referring to SVG?
Oh, and Kelvin Sampson would be like the movie Armageddon. There is a slim, slim hope that something good might happen and humanity might be saved. But it is slim.
However, the real horror or, as I’ll call it, the Mad Max scenario, is Mike Woodson. A lesser version of Mike Brown. YES!!
Side note, who is surprised Shaq still hasn’t come out and said what went wrong in the Cavs locker room yet? He’s ALWAYS been good for spilling the beans.
kelvin sampson was interviewed to be an assistant for izzo.
thinking this is the only way to keep my sanity.
(the links: izzo = msu coach. skiles = msu alum. sampson on skiles staff. izzo can’t get skiles to take demotion, so he gets someone from skiles staff to help on the college-to-nba transition, which sampson recently made himself)
REEPJP
…Larry Brown (I was counting the active coaches to win it all, which is the only thing Mike Brown hasn’t done.).
Kelvin Sampson doesn’t want to miss a thing.
@ Rich
i am with you 100% i will take Shaw over Scott anyday (LeBron or not)
3 rings, studied under the best NBA coach ever and coached the curent best NBA player…good enough resume for me.
I think Shaw is the best out of all the candidates left out there. He would be much more appealing to LeBron than Thibodeau, in my opinion. If you are going to get an assistant, might as well get one who has learned from the best. And yes, that is similar logic to the hiring of Mike Brown, but Shaw and Brown are two different coaches so it isn’t worth comparing the two. Now would he come here? If Phil is coming back for another year and if the opportunity to coach LeBron is there, then probably. Without those things though…it would take a lot of money
@ 25 – Best NBA coach ever? Disagree.
@Matt…Yeah I caught that…for some reason I thought Stan Van was the Heat’s coach when they won, and stopped trying to think of any others after the obvious other 3….after I thought about it, I remembered he was fired at the beginning of the season or something and it was Riley
FiAS
How about best NBA coach alive?
Matt#2 – What about Sloan? Popovich? John Lucas? Randy Wittman?
FIAS / Matt#2
i’ll give you best alive.
in my opinion though, best ever. the reason i am going with best ever is because nobody keeps egos in check like Uncle Phil.
Without agreed upon and measurable criteria, “best” might as well be “cutest.”
Fratello might be the best on that basis.
Cutest has to be JVG. I could just eat that little gnome up!
Matt#2
agreed, except that Eric Spolstra is the cats pajamas when it comes to cutest.
Wish I could be as positive about Shaw but I’m not. Ibwould think Cleveland fans would be terrified by first year coaches by now but inguess not. I don’t think assisting for Jackson makes Shaw so great it doesn’t hurt but unlike Mike Brown I doubt Shaw had as much input under Jackson. I’m assuming but could be wrong. Also who wouldn’t look good with the Lakers.
I could care less how many years a guy has been a head coach or an assitant coach, i just want to know if he can coach. Everything I’ve seen from Byron Scott tells me no, he can’t coach.
SURELY PHIL JACKSON IS JUST CAUSING RUMORS LIKE LEBRON AND HE WILL LEAVE HOLLYWOOD AND COME HERE TO LEAD US TO GLORY.
anyone else see the Broussard piece?
regardless of his eventual intentions, I applaud LeBron. LeBron doesn’t visit teams, teams visit LeBron.
No more 1st time coaches!!!! Please.
Well that’s pretty much the final nail in the coffin of the New York Knicks. In the last three days, their two big (and only)selling points have vanished. They were alone in their ability to sign two max FAs outright…not anymore. Now, their whole idea of selling LeBron on the city is donezo.
GL New York with a superstar squad led by David Lee and Rudy Gay. Knicks fans should riot btw. They’ve been sold for the last three years to just hang in there and not get to angry about selling off the entire team because they would get LeBron. Well, that dream is dead imo, and I’d be really upset if I were them at this point.
@13 — actually shaw comes from two dynasties. he was drafted by the celts then traded to lakers. he’d be a good choice if lebron stays.
if lebron goes, i’d prefer to bring in laimbeer. we’ll need to get skiles-like punk-ass to compete, but in fact our lineup should still be a playoff contender with the right attitude.
(i hate being the last guy to comment on these things.)
@41
i’ll buy Laimbeer for three seasons.
and now you can have a happy saturday knowing you weren’t the last comment. sleep well my friend.
Shaw, long term, does seem like a better choice, but if you want something right now, Scott is your coach. I don’t know what it is that makes players hate Scott after a short time, but he’s turned teams around in quick fashion.
Lebron not touring puts a much different spin on things, if he did it would have been like a gf flirting around with other dudes in the bar. But I could see it now as team representatives show up in Bath, Lebron sits their and says, “Ok why should I leave my home?”
A much different scenario.