Oakland's Brian Shaw

Here's Shaw with a very young Aalim Moor

It's going to happen sooner than later -- the retirement of Phil Jackson and Brian Shaw's ascension to coaching the Lakers. Most either don't know or have forgotten that Shaw is an Oakland product.

Lakers Q&A: Brian Shaw interested in succeeding Phil Jackson as Lakers coach
Mark Medina
Los Angeles Times
February 1, 2011

This is the fourth post in an occasional series of Q&As with a member of the Lakers organization. Below is a recent conversation with Lakers Assistant Coach Brian Shaw, who's in charge of game preparations for contests against the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls.

You told [the L.A. Times' Mike Bresnahan] that this isn't something you're thinking about now, but obviously there's a strong possibility you'll be considered to take over as Lakers head coach. What kind of qualities do you think you'd bring as a head coach if that opportunity came up?

Like you prefaced it, I don't really think about it at this point because there're so many unknown things and factors. There could be a lockout and not be a season. Phil may decide to come back again. I'm sure every coach that's out there, big-name coaches and otherwise, would come running for the job. Who wouldn't want to be the head coach of the Lakers? I don't really consume my thoughts with that.

I would like to think that, if it did happen, [one of] the qualities I would bring is patience. From being around Phil and watching how he deals with the players. ... He has tenure and he has championships and experience that players respect because they know he's been there and done it more than anybody has. He's dealt with personalities, very strong personalities both in Chicago and here and been able to make it work.

I sit back and watch how he deals with [players and] how his relationships are with his players. The game I think has evolved. It's less X's and O's. I've played basketball and have been coaching basketball long enough now to understand everything that goes on on the court. What it's evolved more into now is managing different personalities and egos and all the other stuff that goes with it. When Phil played and, early on, when I played, you didn't have guys doing reality shows, guys with cellphones, pagers and tweeting and guys with their whole bodies tattooed and crazy hairstyles that are part of the game now. You didn't have so many young guys that came out of high school or one year removed from college. Now, a lot of coaching goes into being able to deal with all of those types of issues, and a lot of the spotlight is taken off the X's and O's and who can make this mix of guys work and control these personalities.

I presume it's fair to say, though, that if they approached you about the job, you'd be interested?

No question (laughs). No question about it. It would be a dream for anybody. I consider this one of the top three jobs in all of professional sports. If you're the head coach of the Lakers, it's probably the best job in basketball. If you're the manager of the New York Yankees -- or in football, arguably [it's] the coach of the Cowboys, they say that's America's team. Those three jobs are probably the most prestigious and sought-after jobs in all of sports...

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