"Brian Shaw wants this to be an easy homecoming. He really does.

He spent 12 years as a player, scout and assistant coach for the Lakers but didn't get the job to replace Phil Jackson. He was upset he wasn't hired, especially after finding out through media reports, not the Lakers, that Mike Brown got the nod.

So Shaw returns Sunday to Staples Center as the associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers and might wonder "what if?" … but only if his mind lets him.

"I don't really like to play that game and look back because if I dwell on that, I'm really cheating the team I'm with now," Shaw said in a phone interview with The Times. "I had no issue at all with who they hired. My only issue at that time was how it was handled. That part of it left a bad taste in the mouth.

"But I got over that quickly and just turned my energy to what I'm trying to do with the Pacers and how I can improve my craft and bring the experiences I've learned and apply them to this team."

Shaw, 45, had the support of practically every Lakers player to replace Jackson. He would have kept the triangle offense. He was incredibly familiar with Kobe Bryant, having been his teammate for four seasons. And he resonated locally, his clutch three-pointers against Portland in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals buying a lifetime of goodwill with Lakers followers."