Brian Shaw talks about ugly exit from Lakers thanks to incompetent management

GreatOne1978 · Nov 1, 2011

Yet his time with the Lakers hasn't been the boon he assumed it would be, which is one of the reasons he has come to Indiana. By helping the Pacers this season, he may be able to distance himself from Jackson's triangle offense.

"I talked to him last week," Shaw said of Jackson. "I said to him, 'I never realized how many detractors you have out there.' Because when I go out on head-coaching interviews and if I mention the word 'triangle,' it makes general managers and owners cringe. They don't want to hear about the triangle offense, they don't want to hear about Phil Jackson. It was funny, even when I came here and I sat down with them, jokingly Larry [Bird, the Pacers' president] was like, 'I don't want to hear anything about that triangle bull----.' And that's kind of the attitude that everybody has."

That skepticism appears to be based on the failure of coaches other than Jackson to implement his offense of intricate team play. Jackson's assistants -- Jim Cleamons (with the Mavericks from 1996-98) and Kurt Rambis (with the Timberwolves from 2009-11) -- tried and failed to install it elsewhere.

"I interviewed Brian four years ago and we talked about that," Bird said. "He said, 'I like the triangle, it's great, but you've got to have the right players to run it. I would use part of it, but it's according to the talent that we have. You've got to have the right guys.' "

Brian Shaw believed his experience in the triangle -- supplemented by his understanding of other systems -- would help him become the Lakers' new coach when Phil Jackson retired following their second-round sweep by the eventual champion Mavericks.

Instead, Jackson was concerned for Shaw's future in L.A., because Jim Buss was taking control of the Lakers from his father, Jerry Buss, the most successful owner of the NBA's modern era.

"Phil let me know going into the interview [with the Lakers] for me to almost disassociate myself from him, that anything that I said about him or the triangle system would hurt me because of his lack of relationship with Jimmy Buss," Shaw said.

"So when I did interview, that was the point that I tried to make about the fact that I had played for Phil only my last four years, and that I played for all of these other coaches."

They all met at the home of Jerry Buss, where Shaw was interviewed by both Jerry and Jim Buss, along with general manager Mitch Kupchak.

"There were some things that were said that I won't really get into," Shaw said. "It was kind of bashing Phil Jackson, that I just refused to just sit and listen to. And that's when I said, 'Hey, I love Phil Jackson. I appreciate everything that we've all been able to accomplish under him. We've all prospered since he's been the coach here.' "

"The negativity toward Phil didn't come from Mitch," Shaw said. "It was more from Jimmy Buss just doubting some of the decisions he made in terms of how he was handling and running the team and coaching the team on the sidelines, and sitting down instead of getting up. People look at coaches and want them to pace up and down the sidelines and bark instructions to the guys. That's not Phil's demeanor. That was viewed as a negative in my estimation -- but it won him five championships with the Lakers and six with the Bulls, and that was his coaching style when he won, so why was that not acceptable now?"

Shaw said he never heard back from the Lakers even after Mike Brown was hired. "I didn't get for three weeks after they hired Mike Brown. And I was still protecting them, because when reporters were calling me to find out what happened and how did they let you know they were going in a different direction -- they never did let me know."

"Dr. Buss did call and leave a message saying that his son is in control now, and he has to let him make whatever decisions that he makes. He [Jerry] said that I was still one of his favorites, and that he was sure that I would be OK going forward," Shaw said.

One week after hearing that message, Shaw received a visit from Kupchak. Shaw said he did most of the talking in order to emphasize that he wasn't questioning the Lakers' decision to hire Brown, and to let Kupchak know that Shaw had been trying to protect the organization by not publicizing the Lakers' neglect of him.

"Personally, I don't have anything against Mitch, and he apologized for how everything was handled," Shaw said. "I made it very clear that I was not very happy with the way that I was handled, especially having to shield all of the requests for interviews because I didn't want it to come off the wrong way. I know Ronnie Lester, when he did an interview he kind of blasted the [organization] -- there's a whole lot of stuff that a whole lot of people wanted to say, and Ronnie said some stuff that needed to be said. But at that time, because it was still so new and so raw, if I would have got started [talking publicly], it probably would have been bad."

It is clear that Shaw and Kupchak continue to respect each other.

"Brian is going to be a head coach one day, and he's going to be a good head coach," Kupchak said. "I actually think he is ready to be a head coach now. The fact of the matter, in our organization, there are three of us that made the decision. We interviewed several candidates, and Mike's interview was just excellent and we made a choice and decision as a group to pursue Mike Brown. For me to say anything else would not be true."
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...shaw.lakers/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_wr_a3

A_3PO · Nov 1, 2011

After the season ended, I always felt Shaw's only chance at a head coaching job was the Lakers.

Carl Herrera · Nov 1, 2011

I don't think it's Phil Jackson's fault people get scared of "triangle."

If anyone is to blame, I think it would be Jim Cleamons and K. Rambis, two Jackson assistants who got head coaching jobs, tried to teach the triangle to young teams, and ended up with terrible records and got fired. People get scared it would not translate based on these examples.

JeffB · Nov 1, 2011

Carl Herrera said: ↑

I don't think it's Phil Jackson's fault people get scared of "triangle."

If anyone is to blame, I think it would be Jim Cleamons and K. Rambis, two Jackson assistants who got head coaching jobs, tried to teach the triangle to young teams, and ended up with terrible records and got fired. People get scared it would not translate based on these examples.
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I've heard other coaches scoff in interviews that it the triangle isn't special, that Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe could make any offense look special.

I do think there is something to how the triple post offense provides a structure for floor balance, ball movement, off-ball movement and post play. Like any system, it needs players who fit it. With Clemons and Rambis and even when Chicago tried to force Tim Floyd to implement it, they lacked the post presence to pull it off.

sinobball · Nov 1, 2011

Carl Herrera said: ↑

I don't think it's Phil Jackson's fault people get scared of "triangle."

If anyone is to blame, I think it would be Jim Cleamons and K. Rambis, two Jackson assistants who got head coaching jobs, tried to teach the triangle to young teams, and ended up with terrible records and got fired. People get scared it would not translate based on these examples.
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They are both in China at the moment, as well as another ex-Laker assistant Dan Panaggio.

All 3 photos from the same place in China today.

REEKO_HTOWN · Nov 1, 2011

The triangle is easy to implement as long as you have a hall of fame superstar shooting guard. How hard is to get one of those?

ascaptjack · Nov 1, 2011

lazenby Roland Lazenby
If you're a Lakers fan and you're not worried about Jim Buss running the team, your first name is probably Pollyanna.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
No question that Phil Jackson toyed mentally with Jim Buss. For Phil, it was a game of tiddlywinks.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
Question is, what had Jim Buss ever done to earn Phil Jackson's respect?

lazenby Roland Lazenby
Will Jim Buss move away from Kobe? Of course. Age will soon dictate that. Question is, will Buss make a smart move away from Kobe? Doubtful.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
I don't think Jim Buss is an idiot or a bad person. But he isn't qualified to run the Lakers basketball operations which he's trying to do.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
Will we soon see an Occupy Staples Center movement trying to stop Jim Buss, the 1 percenter, from running the Lakers in the ground?

lazenby Roland Lazenby
No question Jeanie Buss would be 1 of the greatest owners in NBA history. She'd run the business+let the basketball folks do their jobs

ferrari77 · Nov 1, 2011

ascaptjack said: ↑

lazenby Roland Lazenby
If you're a Lakers fan and you're not worried about Jim Buss running the team, your first name is probably Pollyanna.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
No question that Phil Jackson toyed mentally with Jim Buss. For Phil, it was a game of tiddlywinks.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
Question is, what had Jim Buss ever done to earn Phil Jackson's respect?

lazenby Roland Lazenby
Will Jim Buss move away from Kobe? Of course. Age will soon dictate that. Question is, will Buss make a smart move away from Kobe? Doubtful.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
I don't think Jim Buss is an idiot or a bad person. But he isn't qualified to run the Lakers basketball operations which he's trying to do.

lazenby Roland Lazenby
Will we soon see an Occupy Staples Center movement trying to stop Jim Buss, the 1 percenter, from running the Lakers in the ground?

lazenby Roland Lazenby
No question Jeanie Buss would be 1 of the greatest owners in NBA history. She'd run the business+let the basketball folks do their jobs
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The bolded is one of the most important things Lazenby mentioned. Jim and Jeanie don't see eye to eye and I'm pretty sure Jerry handing over the reins to Jim played a part in that. For Lakers haters, the next 2-3 seasons should be great(as they watch Kobe end his Lakers career and see Jim try to move away from Kobe) and the subsequent seasons should be EPIC (as Jim drags the franchise to new lows barring some Stern/Silver draft magic).

Dreamin · Nov 2, 2011

They dissed Shaw and co pretty bad. Phil Jackson was the only thing I liked abouyt the Lakers. Now there is absolutely nothing to like about the lakers team. I find my self hating them that much more as every season goes on.

JayGoogle · Nov 2, 2011

Lol. In order to run ANY offense you're going to need great players.

At least Shaw PLANNED on running a actual offense. They may be begging for him after they see what Mike Brown has planned for offense.

david_rocket · Nov 2, 2011

JayGoogle said: ↑

Lol. In order to run ANY offense you're going to need great players.

At least Shaw PLANNED on running a actual offense. They may be begging for him after they see what Mike Brown has planned for offense.
Click to expand...

Exactly, Shaw planned a TEAM offense, Mike Brown offensive plan: give the ball to kobe and try to score, have a question about it ask the assistant coaches.

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Brian Shaw talks about ugly exit from Lakers thanks to incompetent management

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