Brian Shaw will be the new coach of the Denver Nuggets, saying he’s been “prepared by the best of the best” for his first NBA head coaching job.

“I can’t express my appreciation enough,” Shaw told The Denver Post by phone Monday evening. “It’s been a grind to say the least, but I’m just very appreciative of the opportunity to lead this team. … It’s been years, 11-12 interviews I’ve gone through. And I’ve felt I’ve been prepared by the best of the best. You know, everything that’s worth something, a lot of times you have to wait for it. I feel like I’ve waited and paid my dues.

“I feel honored and privileged that (Nuggets executives) Josh (Kroenke) and Tim (Connelly) have put faith in me that I’m the guy they want to grow with going forward.”

The Indiana Pacers assistant coach and former Phil Jackson pupil will finally get a crack at being a head coach, taking over for George Karl, who was fired earlier this month.

Shaw has agreed to take over a team that won 57 games last season and is loaded with young talent. Lionel Hollins, the former Memphis Grizzlies coach, was Denver’s other top candidate for the position.

The Nuggets will formally introduce Shaw on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Pepsi Center.

Shaw, 47, has a reputation as being a players’ coach and a player developer, notably with rising star Paul George, the Pacers forward who was an all-star in 2012-13.

Pacers president Donnie Walsh told Denver Post columnist Woody Paige over the weekend that Shaw would “fit in perfectly” with the Nuggets.

“Brian is brilliant working individually with players,” Walsh said. “They identify with him because he speaks their basketball language, and cuts through the X’s and O’s and techno-(stuff). And they respect him because he’s been a winner on every level as a player and a coach.”

Jackson said he was happy for Shaw, his former assistant, in landing a head coaching job.

“I think the Nuggets are going to benefit from his tenure,” Jackson said on Twitter.

Shaw is adept at coaching the triangle offense, which Jackson utilized while coaching the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, but Shaw said he won’t use the offensive set with a team that thrived in a fast-paced, free-flowing system under Karl.

“Although I played in the triangle and coached the triangle, I also played in a lot of systems, so that’s not something I’m looking to bring to the Nuggets and try to implement,” Shaw said.”I’m going to look at a lot of film of things the team did well, running was one of them. And I’ll continue to build on things they did well and get more of a feel for the personnel and what I think will be conducive to everybody’s ability.”

A native of Oakland, Calif., Shaw played college ball at St. Mary’s and UC Santa Barbara, and had a distinguished NBA career, from 1988-2003. He was a member of the championship Lakers teams in the early 2000s. After he retired, Jackson hired him as an assistant.

Most recently, Shaw worked under Pacers coach Frank Vogel. This season Indiana advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, taking the Miami Heat to seven games.

Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294, bhochman@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nuggetsnews