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Report: Melvin Hunt will be Denver Nuggets interim coach

By Stanford Crissey

Jan 25, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt during the game against the Washington Wizards at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt during the game against the Washington Wizards at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Denver Nuggets have fired head coach Brian Shaw, will replace him with assistant Melvin Hunt

The Denver Nuggets are currently 20-39, 13th in the Western Conference. It’s been a disappointing outcome for a team that thought it could contend for at least a playoff spot. Today, they made the decision to fire head coach Brian Shaw.

Acoording to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Shaw will be replaced on an interim basis by assistant Melvin Hunt.

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Hunt, 45, began his NBA coaching career under Rudy Tomjanovich with the Rockets after the former Baylor player’s NBA career didn’t pan out. He later became as assistant for the Lakers and Cavaliers, and has served as a Nuggets assistant for five seasons under both George Karl and Shaw. He was interviewed for the Nuggets’ top job in the summer of 2013 before the job went to Shaw; the 76ers also interviewed him that summer but decided on Brett Brown.

It’s a disappointing end for Shaw, who was considered an up-and-coming coaching star when he was hired. The Nuggets may well be regretting the decision to let go of George Karl in 2013 after he won NBA Coach of the Year honors. Shaw went a disappointing 36-46 last season; another losing season was the last straw for him, as his tenure marked the end of what was an extended period of success for Denver, with and without Carmelo Anthony.

This being March and the Nuggets’ season being a lost cause, Hunt will probably get the rest of the year as coach of the team. If things go well for him, he could show enough to be offered the job in the offseason, so this is a high-stakes situation for him.

It’s always tough to keep the morale going for a losing team whose coach has been fired midseason, especially one that has traded many key contributors (the Nuggets have traded away Timofey Mozgov, Arron Afflalo and JaVale McGee this season), so we’ll see how it goes for Hunt; best-case scenario is that he can replicate Frank Vogel’s work with the Pacers in 2011; Vogel went on to earn the head coaching job and led the Pacers to the East’s best record last season.

The Nuggets still have plenty of talent on the roster, and if Hunt can start to harness it better than Shaw, he could have a more permanent job on his hands.

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