Indiana Pacers: Brian Shaw A Good Head Coaching Candidate?

The Indiana Pacers are now without a head coach after the departure of Frank Vogel. Would Brian Shaw be a good fit in Indiana?

Indiana Pacers team president Larry Bird announced Thursday afternoon that the team will not renew then-head coach Frank Vogel’s contract for the upcoming season. The question now remains as to who exactly would be a good replacement to be the next coach for the team?

According to recent reports, former Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw is one of the various candidates that Bird could interview to become the team’s head coach in 2016.

In case some forgot, Shaw was an assistant and eventual associate head coach for the Pacers from 2011 until the conclusion of the 2012-13 season when he took the gig to become the head coach for the Nuggets the following year.

Shaw was eventually fired from the Nuggets in March of 2015 after posting a 56-85 record in under two seasons with the team.

One of the reasons as to Shaw would be a good fit to coach the Pacers? He is familiar and respected amongst the organization and a few of the players who were on the team when he was an assistant to Vogel.

Paul George, George Hill and Ian Mahinmi have all played for Shaw and with the exception of Mahinmi — an unrestricted free agent this summer — are under contract for the upcoming season.

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Another thing to look at is the fact that guard Ty Lawson has also played under Shaw when both were in Denver. While Lawson will be a free agent along with Mahinmi this offseason, it may be very far-fetched that Bird re-signs Lawson given his disappointing play during his stint with the team.

If Bird does in fact decide to go out on a limb and re-signs Lawson as well as the hiring of Shaw then maybe — and a big maybe — Lawson can get back to his dominant ways when he was in his prime while playing for the Nuggets and Shaw.

Next: Indiana Pacers Part Ways With Frank Vogel

While there are many candidates that Bird will evaluate and interview to be the team’s coach next season, don’t rule out the idea of him taking Shaw into serious consideration given the coach’s track record with the Pacers.

Regardless of who Bird hires to lead the team next season and beyond, he better hope that it works out just how he envisioned, otherwise he’ll receive a great deal of backlash and look foolish for giving Vogel his walking papers.