Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel backs assistant Brian Shaw to land head coaching job – NBA Update
Much was made of Brian Shaw’s decision to not take a head coaching stint last season and instead opt to become an assistant with the Indiana Pacers. Indiana head coach Frank Vogel has now backed Shaw to land a head coaching gig this time around, even if
it means he would lose a great helped in Indiana.
"Brian Shaw is not ready to be a head coach, and I think anybody that wants to interview him now is crazy," Vogel joked Tuesday, a sign of the great rapport he has with his deputy, before turning more serious. "I'm actually shocked he's not a head coach
yet because there are no weaknesses to him at all, and he's got some of that Phil Jackson swagger to him, which really helped us this year. I think he's going to be one of the best coaches in the league for years to come."
Shaw learned the trade from legendary coach Phil Jackson, with whom he served both as a player and then an assistant at the Los Angeles Lakers. When Jackson retired at the end of the 2010 – 2011 NBA season, Shaw was favourite to take over the reins.
Brian had the backing of the outgoing Jackson, as well as of the senior players at Los Angeles, including super star Kobe Bryant and veteran guard Derek Fisher. The Lakers management though had other ideas, perhaps because they wanted to wipe clean Jackson’s
imprint from the franchise.
The Lakers ended up hiring Mike Brown instead and Shaw interviewed for the head coaching slots of a few other teams, before eventually settling for an assistant coach gig at the Pacers. Vogel and Indiana however know that someone as talented as Shaw will
not be staying too long in his current position and are thus prepared to see him go elsewhere and further his career.
Shaw and Vogel made a great team at Indiana, turning around the fortunes of the club in just a year and taking a young team to the second round of the playoffs. They lost out to Miami Heat in 6 games there, but Frank is confident that his side will come
back stronger next season.
"I definitely think we have enough here and we're really young," Vogel said. "We gave Miami a heck of a run and they're championship-ready right now. There's tremendous area for growth within this team.”
Whether Shaw will be with them or not is a different matter though.
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