The Denver Nuggets have released Brian Shaw of his head coaching duties, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
After trading away Timofey Mozgov and Arron Afflalo, the Nuggets have been free falling in the standings. They are currently 20-39 which is 13th in the Western Conference and have lost 19 of their last 21 games.
Assistant coach Melvin Hunt will take over as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Shaw was hired by the Nuggets on June 25, 2013 after the team relieved George Karl of his duties. He coached the Nuggets to a 36-46 record last season, which was good for 11th in the West. Prior to coaching Denver, Shaw spent six seasons as Los Angeles Lakers’ assistant coach and two seasons as Indiana Pacers’ assistant.
With the team struggling severely, Brian Shaw had publicly voiced the frustrations he had with his players, but it seemed like the feeling was mutual between the two sides. During Friday’s loss to the Utah Jazz, Denver players started chanting “1-2-3…six weeks!” in their huddle, referencing that there are only six weeks left to the end of the season. However, Brian Shaw denied the reports and said that the team was actually referring to their six-week long home losing streak, as they were hoping to end it.
As for a future replacement for Shaw, Mike D’Antoni would be one candidate interested in the job, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports. Also, Mark Jackson, Alvin Gentry, and Adrian Griffin would be a handful of other potential candidates.