Even though the San Antonio Spurs are in the midst of another deep playoff run, the Lakers received permission to interview their assistant coach for the vacancy left by Byron Scott
From the looks of it, it appears that the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office is finally getting smart, peering directly at the bench that has been responsible for producing 17 straight 50 plus win seasons.
Per Sam Amick of USA Today Sports, the Lakers have gotten permission from the Spurs to interview lead assistant, Ettore Messina for their head coaching vacancy.
"According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Lakers have received permission from the San Antonio Spurs to interview their lead assistant coach, Ettore Messina . . .It is unclear how soon the team plans to interview Messina, the widely-respected Italian coach who won four Euroleague titles and was twice the Euroleague coach of the year before spending the 2011-12 NBA season on the Lakers coaching staff headed by Mike Brown."
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Looking at Popovich’s “coaching tree,” his track record is extremely solid when it comes to producing candidates who’ve excelled in leadership positions.
From the likes of assistants turned head coaches like Mike Budenholzer (Atlanta Hawks), to big name general managers, Sam Presti (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Rob Hennigan (Orlando Magic), to former players turned coaches, Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), you can’t deny Pop’s ability to breed excellence.
Hence, the decision to pick fruit from the ripest tree of them all proves that Mitch Kupchak and perhaps even the Buss family is hopefully beginning to turn a new leaf.
With each passing moment, new names are connected to the Lakers’ coaching vacancy and we will be sure to update you as soon as that happens.
Next: Fisher and Ollie Among Those Interested in LA Vacancy
But for now, fans should be excited at the prospect of a real coach finally coming to Los Angeles.