It was time to say goodbye to Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw as the team decided to fire him on Tuesday.

Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly thanked Shaw for his contribution to the team.

"You won't find a better guy than Brian, and he is one of the brightest basketball minds I've ever been around. Unfortunately, things didn't go as we hoped, but we know with his basketball acumen that he has a very bright future ahead of him," Connelly said, as quoted by ESPN..

ESPN added that Melvin Hunt, who works as one of Shaw's assistants, will takeover as intermim coach. Hunt has been with the Nuggets for five seasons after he served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The announcement of the firing of Shaw came as a shock to the basketball world as ESPN noted that Connelly has previously expressed that Shaw's job was safe.

Under Shaw's leadership, the Nuggets lost six games in a row. "This has been a trying season for all of us. And we appreciate Nuggets fans' continued faith and patience as we build our proud organization back to the NBA's elite," said team president Josh Kroenke in a statement quoted by ESPN.

Prior to his being sacked by the team, Shaw was reportedly concerned about the lack of maturity and professionalism of some of the players. ESPN sources explained that the coach was instructed to fix the issues of the team.

He reportedly tried canceling shootarounds so that he can have a good working relationship with the players but it seemed to have not worked with the Nuggets.

Yahoo Sports added that Shaw also resorted to "old, well-worn tactics" to lead the team. It added that he tried his best to motivate his players to get through injury concerns and trade plans.

"Shaw even admitted to rapping a pregame personnel report. Seriously," the Yahoo Sports report added.

A similar Ottawa Sun report discussed that Shaw has been a hot topic for weeks because of the Nuggets' performance in their previous games. The team's current state must have pushed the team to let go of Shaw. 

"He is a champion and a gentleman and I wish him nothing but the best for himself and his family moving forward," Connelly said, as quoted by the Ottawa Sun.

He added that the team management staff "has remained patient and supportive as decisions of this nature are never taken lightly" and that they encourage patience for the progress and growth of the team

"However, competing for championships is our goal, and therefore we decided to make this decision now and look forward to conducting an extensive head coaching search upon the season's conclusion. This has been a trying season for all of us, and we appreciate Nuggets fans continued faith and patience as we build our proud organization back to the NBA's elite," he added.