Given Phil Jackson’s dogged devotion to the triangle offense, Brian Shaw has already emerged as a potential candidate to replace fired Derek Fisher. And despite Shaw’s losing record in Denver, several Nuggets told The Post their former coach could handle New York and win in the Garden.
“I heard his name came up,” Wilson Chandler told The Post. “Dealing with New York? He played [under pressure] before. I mean, L.A.’s not New York, but it’s the second-biggest market. I think he’ll do fairly well being mentored under Phil Jackson, and playing with the Lakers and winning a few championships, he knows about pressure. So just from that standpoint I think he’ll do good.
“I think he’s a good coach, personally, and I always knew he’d get another chance to be a head coach. He’s a great assistant coach, a great person, great dad, husband, all-around person. I hope he gets the job.’’
Chandler knows New York, drafted by the Knicks in 2007 and playing in the Garden until the blockbuster trade that brought Carmelo Anthony in 2011. Danilo Gallinari also headed to the Nuggets in that same deal and admits the glare of New York is unique and not easy to deal with.
“That’s for sure,” said Gallinari. “He spent a lot of time in L.A., so I guess there are a lot of similarities between L.A. and New York. But New York is tough for anybody to say how you or somebody could do in New York. You never know.”
What we know is that Shaw — after replacing George Karl in June 2013 — didn’t even last two seasons in Denver. He went just 56-85 before being fired last March by general manager Tim Connelly. But several players said that record can’t be placed entirely on Shaw’s shoulders, admitting they share culpability.
“We didn’t win. Bottom line. In this league, you have to win, and we didn’t do that for him, that’s part of the reason why he got let go,” said J.J. Hickson. “He knows the triangle offense, so of course he would be a good candidate to be a head coach for [the Knicks]. But who knows? Who am I to say who’s a fit and who’s not? I think this league is all about getting maximum potential from all your players. That’s what it takes to be a great head coach.”
But can Shaw do that?
With Fisher fired Monday, Kurt Rambis will serve as the Knicks’ interim coach, but Shaw and Luke Walton are the top long-term replacement candidates.
Tom Thibodeau is one of the top coaches available, but Jackson presumably would prefer somebody with knowledge of his beloved triangle, and Shaw clearly has that.
“When I played with him, we honestly didn’t play a lot of triangle, so I don’t know if he’s going to run this system. But the system, he won a lot of championships in the triangle, so I know he knows how to play it very well,” said Gallinari. “He knows the system very well.’’
Shaw earned three rings as a player, two more as an assistant, and all five with the triangle.
“We didn’t really do too much because I guess we didn’t have the personnel for it,” said Chandler, who said Shaw’s failure couldn’t all be heaped on his shoulders.
“I think [it was] a mixture of things. He had guys that weren’t his guys, a new system, first-time head coach, the expectations of the front office. It was just a mixture of things. It happens all the time. It’s just like players. You could be not a fit somewhere but a great fit somewhere else.”
It remains to be seen if Shaw can be a fit in the Garden.