In Lakers rumors tonight, legendary Italian basketball coach Ettore Messina may be more likely to land with the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach than with the Los Angeles Lakers in a head coaching capacity.
So says Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net, via Ryan Ward of LakersNation.com: "After Mike D’Antoni’s resignation from the Lakers, Ettore Messina is mentioned even as a candidate for the coaching job in Los Angeles. So, it’s a fact that this is the last European season of coach Messina, but his main option at this point seems to be the top assistant of Gregg Popovich."
Part of the reason Messina could choose the Spurs over the Lakers has to do with assimilation. Messina may be more inclined to work under a legendary NBA head coach like Gregg Popovich for a couple of years, getting a feel for the nuances of the NBA game before jumping head-first into a head coaching position.
While Messina may indeed be a target for the Lakers, a coaching search which could possibly include both Van Gundy brothers (Stan and Jeff), George Karl, and countless others may have left Messina lost in the shuffle to begin with.