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As Phil Jackson prepares for an interview during tonight's broadcast of the NBA Finals, Peter Vecsey of the New York Post is reporting that the Lakers are considering Brian Shaw as their next head coach.
Talk about coming out of left field.
If this is true (and knowing the Post, it probably isn't), it's a bad idea. It's not that we don't like Brian Shaw. We always liked him as a valuable veteran role player on the Lakers three-peat teams. And we were pleased to see Shaw remain with the organization as a scout, front-office man, and later this season as an assistant coach. But there are two obvious reasons why Shaw is the wrong man at the wrong time to coach the Lakers.
First off, Vecsey reports that Kobe Bryant is behind this move because Shaw is supposedly a Kobe ally. Unless the Lakers are going to hire a Hall-of-Fame coach, the last thing they need is for the appearance that Kobe is calling the shots, irregardless of whether or not it's true.
Secondly, Shaw has little coaching experience. The track record of players going straight into head coaching jobs without having served quality time as an assistant is lousy. Shaw may have seemed like a coach when Jackson was in charge, but it's a much different lifestyle and mentality. Shaw could very well be a great NBA head coach one day, but you need more than one-half season of working for Frank Hamblen under your belt to prove you can run the Lakers.
