Coach Brian Shaw fired by 20-39 Denver Nuggets

Sam Amick | USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets have fired coach Brian Shaw, a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the firing had not yet been announced.

Shaw was in his second season with the Nuggets, who went 57-25 under George Karl the season before making the surprising coaching change and overhauled the organization in a way that clearly hasn't panned out. The Nuggets, who lost general manager Masai Ujiri to the Toronto Raptors during that same summer as well, went 36-46 last season under Shaw and are 20-39 this season.

Shaw had spent most of the season openly sharing the frustration he had with his players, and it seemed there was an internal acknowledgement from management that he had every reason to be upset. But the situation continued to grow worse, best evidenced by a recent huddle in which players reportedly chanted, "one, two, three - six weeks!" as they appeared to be counting down to the end of the season. Shaw, however, later denied that was the case and said it was a message he had shared with his players about how they hadn't won a game in nearly six weeks and the time to stop the streak had arrived.

Nuggets President Josh Kroenke and general manager Tim Connelly clearly reached their breaking point, and the search will now begin for Shaw's replacement. According to the Nuggets, assistant coach Melvin Hunt will assume Shaw's role until the end of the season.

"On behalf of everyone in the Denver Nuggets organization, I would personally like to thank Brian for his services the past two seasons in Denver," Kroenke said in the team's eventual announcement. "He is a champion and a gentleman and I wish him nothing but the best for himself and his family moving forward. Since we purchased the franchise in 2000 we have constantly strived to field a competitive team, culminating in 10 straight playoff appearances and a franchise record 57 wins in the 2012-13 regular season. Expectations have been raised and we want more.

"This season our management staff has remained patient and supportive as decisions of this nature are never taken lightly. Patience is encouraged, as long as the organization continues to show progress toward a greater goal. However, competing for championships is our goal, and therefore we decided to make this decision now and look forward to conducting an extensive head coaching search upon the season's conclusion. This has been a trying season for all of us, and we appreciate Nuggets fans continued faith and patience as we build our proud organization back to the NBA's elite."

As for Shaw's eventual replacement, a person with knowledge of Mike D'Antoni's thinking told USA TODAY Sports that he would have a strong interest in returning to the place where he started his NBA coaching career. Before rising to relevance with the Phoenix Suns during their "Seven Seconds or Less" era and later coaching the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, D'Antoni's Nuggets went 14-36 in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the process. Former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson is believed to be among the likely candidates, along with Warriors associate head coach Alvin Gentry and Chicago Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin.

Shaw waited a long time to get his first head-coaching opportunity, having spent his post-playing years with the Los Angeles Lakers (2003 to 2011) as a scout and assistant coach under Phil Jackson before joining Frank Vogel with the Indiana Pacers as associate head coach.