Fansided

Brian Shaw has interest in Orlando Magic job

By Will Osgood

Jan 28, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw against the New Orleans Pelicans during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Nuggets defeated the Pelicans 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw against the New Orleans Pelicans during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Nuggets defeated the Pelicans 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Denver Nuggets coach Brian Shaw would be “very interested” in returning to Orlando as coach of the Magic. 

Brian Shaw apparently isn’t too jaded about being fired this week by the Denver Nuggets. He’s already expressed interest in the Orlando Magic job, which figures to be available this summer, according to the Orlando Sentinel’s Brian Schmitz.

Brian Shaw played for the Orlando Magic in the prime of his career from 1994 to 1997. Shaw retired from his 15-year NBA playing career in 2003 after a successful run as a calming influence for the Lakers under Phil Jackson.

Shaw was later an assistant for one of the men on the pantheon of NBA coaches with the Lakers and eventually became known as a can’t-miss assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers under Frank Vogel.

Shaw, though, had difficulty landing his first head coaching job, and if the results in Denver are any indication, the franchises who did not hire Shaw may have been justified.

Shaw struggled in his less than two years on the job, after replacing George Karl, who was greatly revered by many in Denver. Shaw’s team lost 19 of 21 during a brutal stretch this season.

The Magic also had a disappointing run with their head coach Jacque Vaughn who was fired on February 5. Shaw appears to be wired similarly to Vaughn in terms of personality, making the marriage a less than ideal fit.

But with talented youngsters–including two top-10 picks from the 2014 NBA draft, Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton as well as 2013 No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo–joining the 24-year-old Nikola Vucevic and 22-year-old Tobias Harris, the sky is the limit for the Magic.

Their best basketball is almost certainly ahead of them. The team showed signs of hope early in 2014, but fell off considerably as the year went on.

Shaw’s team in Denver was also loaded with a lot of nice players–namely Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried–but was unable to overcome the lack of a true superstar.

The current Magic squad faces the same predicament, though all of the players above could develop into the kind of player necessary to carry an NBA team to the playoffs and through them.

Because they are so young, they are also ripe with potential. Getting the full potential out of the entire roster is the task of whoever leads them in 2015 and beyond.

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