EL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Lakers today announced the hiring of Associate Head Coach Brian Shaw and Assistant Coach Jesse Mermuys to Head Coach Luke Walton’s coaching staff. In addition, Mark Madsen has been retained as an Assistant Coach.
Shaw returns to the Lakers organization after winning five championships with the franchise; three as a player (2000-02) and two as an assistant coach (2009 and 2010). The Oakland native brings a wealth of coaching experience to the bench after serving as Head Coach of the Denver Nuggets for two seasons (2013-15), Associate Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers for two years (2011-13), and seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Lakers (2004-11).
In Indiana, Shaw helped lead the Pacers to the postseason both years, including a run to the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals. Before joining the Lakers bench, the 50-year-old served as a scout for the team for the 2003-04 campaign after concluding his playing career as a Laker following the 2002-03 season.
Credited with the development of young players at each of his coaching stops, Shaw also played for the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Portland Trail Blazers during his NBA career, and spent the 1989-90 season playing professionally in Italy.
Madsen has served as an assistant coach with the Lakers for the past two seasons, and spent the 2013-14 season behind the bench as a player development coach for the organization. The Danville, CA native won two NBA Championships with the Lakers in 2001 and 2002, and played a total of nine seasons with Los Angeles and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Following his playing career, Madsen served as an assistant coach during the 2009-10 season with the Utah Flash of the NBA D-League before returning to his alma mater, Stanford University, where he earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2012. That same year, he was named an assistant coach on Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins’ staff and spent the 2012-13 season working in recruiting, opponent game planning, and player skill development.
Mermuys comes to the Lakers from the Toronto Raptors organization, where he most recently served as Head Coach of their NBA D-League affiliate, Raptors 905. Under Mermuys’ watch as the first coach in the history of the franchise, Norman Powell developed and played a crucial role in the 2016 postseason, Greg Smith earned a call-up and was signed for the remainder of the season by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Axel Toupane was named the D-League’s Most Improved Player in addition to earning a multi-year contract with the Denver Nuggets.
The University of Arizona graduate was a Raptors Assistant Coach on Dwane Casey’s staff for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, and coached Toronto’s entry in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2014 and 2015. His prior NBA experience includes spending the 2012-13 season with the
Houston Rockets as Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development. He also worked for the Denver Nuggets for four seasons, serving as video coordinator, advance scout, and ultimately assistant coach/advanced scout.
With an extensive background in player development, the Tucson, AZ native held a number of coaching, basketball operations, and video coordinator positions at Arizona, New Mexico State, Southern Utah, Pima Community College, and Salpointe Catholic High School. Mermuys played collegiately at Glendale Community College in Glendale, AZ.
