Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina was in Italy this week with his agent for an interview, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. As Carchia details in a pair of reports, Italian club Olimpia Milano is interested in bringing Messina back to Europe.
The only Italian club that currently plays in the EuroLeague, Olimpia Milano is in the market for a new head of basketball operations and may name a new head coach as well, though Simone Pianigiani still holds the HC position for now. The team has interest in Messina for the dual role, per Carchia.
A longtime head coach overseas for CKSA Moscow, Real Madrid, and other clubs, Messina joined the Spurs in 2014 as an assistant. He has received interest from multiple NBA teams as a head coaching candidate since then, interviewing with the Hornets, Bucks, and Raptors in 2018.
Messina, who coached the Italian national team between 2015 and 2017, also served as the Spurs’ interim head coach for three games during the 2018 postseason following the death of Gregg Popovich‘s wife Erin.
According to Carchia, Messina is expected to make a decision this week on whether to join Milano or remain with the Spurs.
I’m surprised no one in the NBA gave him a chance. He a very good coach. Yet guys like Kidd, Fisher, lue etc get hc jobs
Tbf only Kidd got a 2nd chance.
So you mean to tell me the Knicks couldn’t hire this guy, but hired Fizdale who just talks and talks. I hope the Knicks can somehow hire Messina he would really make a good head coach in the NBA.
He is one of the best coach. Maybe the best no american… I really hope he doesn’t accept to come back in Italy, where the league now is only a little bit more than ncaa
He deserve to be a coach of a NBA team
Lack of good Italian food in San Antonio.