Just got off the phone with the Wolves’ Mark Madsen for a Page 2 Q&A. We’ll save some of the fun for print, but a couple of things Madsen said where more newsy. Like many players seem to be, Madsen is taking the news of Kevin McHale’s departure pretty hard. “Surprised, and shocked. To be honest, I was disappointed,” Madsen said when describing how he felt.

Later, he was asked for thoughts on what kind of coach the Wolves should pursue. Mind you, we weren’t even looking for a specific name. But Madsen brought up an intriguing one: Brian Shaw.

Shaw is currently a Lakers assistant. He and Madsen were teammates in L.A. for three seasons, the last of which was Shaw’s final season in the NBA as a player (02-03). [You’ll notice our lame attempt to circle both players using paint in that picture]. Shaw, an up-and-comer as a head coaching candidate, is said to be interested in the vacant USC college job. While Madsen will hardly be the person conducting the Wolves search, here is his testimonial for Shaw:

“I think Brian Shaw would be an excellent candidate to be a head coach. He has connections overseas. He won as a player. He’s played in the triangle offense, he’s coached in the triangle. … He was a guard, and he would know how to talk to point guards. He was the one guy in the locker room who had an unbelievable way of communicating with Shaq, Kobe and Phil. … I know Brian very well, and I believe a lot of teams in the NBA have their eyes on him. When you have a guy that can communicate with players and has an expertise … it’s an important name.”

Madsen mentioned one other preferred candidate by name: former Timberwolves player and Raptors coach Sam Mitchell. Again, this is not to say either Shaw or Mitchell would be a candidate. But it was interesting to hear Madsen’s opinion on the matter.

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