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"Yes, absolutely. I repeat, when I mentioned Milan, it was just an example. I recently discussed this with Ettore Messina as well, and we are on the same page. We are in talks with multiple groups," he said in an interview with Gazzetta.
Ettore Messina has decided to step down as head coach of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, sources have confirmed to BasketNews. Alessandra Bocci of Gazzetta dello Sport was the first to report on Messina's decision to resign from coaching duties.
Messina also serves as President of Basketball Operations in Milan, and his contract with the club was set to run through 2026 Messina will remain with the club as a personal adviser to President Leo Dell'Orco, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Ettore Messina, head coach and president of basketball operations at Olimpia Milano, has weighed in on the growing discussions surrounding the NBA Europe project, offering a candid assessment of both the opportunities and the challenges facing European basketball today. Speaking to reporters this week, Messina emphasized the significance of Olimpia Milano’s potential involvement in the NBA’s European expansion plans. “The fact that Olimpia Milano is an important target for NBA Europe is significant for the owners, the city, and the history of the club,” Messina said.
While acknowledging the prestige of the EuroLeague, Messina drew attention to the league’s underlying financial and structural strains. “In the EuroLeague, we have a very high-quality product, with the level of play second only to the NBA playoffs,” he noted. “But when you read that Real Madrid loses $38 million for a season and you find yourself with low player turnover, you realize you have a serious economic problem.”
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However, when the questions moved to the future of European basketball and NBA Europe, the in-form Messina was ready to repeat things he described one year ago to Eurohoops. As the legendary Italian coach explained: “Our on-court product is fantastic; it’s second only to the NBA playoffs. On the other side, there’s a huge business problem, because everybody loses money, and we depend on the big multi-sport clubs like Madrid, Barcelona, Fener, and also on the goodwill of a lot of owners who put incredible resources into this sport. So I think it would be ideal if we plan something, and if the question is related to the NBA, I think it would be in our great interest to find some common ground and make sure we can develop a league that has the quality of the EuroLeague, and let’s say the attractiveness of a well-run business that a sports organization can provide that”. Of course, Messina doesn’t think that this can be easy: “It’s a long way to go; there were two meetings, and I was in one of them. There’s goodwill; the NBA seems to be very serious in its plan. I personally hope that we can find some common ground. I disagree with my colleagues that they will come here to destroy European basketball. I honestly don’t think so”.
Ettore Messina: “The Euroleague is a show on the court, but it is no longer sustainable. In this diatribe with Fiba, a third player like the NBA can insert itself, which has everything to put European basketball back on its feet and reconcile it with world basketball.”
Jay Huff almost went a different direction this year. He was in talks with the Euro League club Olimpia Milano. His free agency decision was between that and Memphis. “We were pretty close (with Olimpia Milano),” he said. “We talked to them. Really liked them. Still do. Their head coach is awesome. Ettore Messina, he’s the man. So we were close. Living in Milan would have been fun. And I know plenty of guys that have gone overseas that should be in the NBA right now. It’s all about fit and opportunity.”
Ettore Messina, who coached him in his first year at CSKA Moscow and from 2020 to 2024 in Milan, thanked Kyle Hines. “Thank YOU Sir! It’s been special to share these years together ❤️”, he said. Kevin Punter, who reached the 2021 EuroLeague Final Four with him, joined the list. “Appreciated being your teammate and brother!! 🙏🏾 enjoy bro!”, he said. Zach LeDay, who rejoined Milan this season, followed. “MORE THAN GRATEFUL TO HAVE SHARED MY JOURNEY WITH YOU G”, he said.
“He’s an outlier, you know?” says Patrick Engelbrecht, the Raptors’ director of global scouting and international affairs, whose job is to have a pulse on the sport outside of the NBA. “Before, if [teams] talked about hiring an NBA coach from Europe, it was a prestigious name, like an Ettore Messina, Sergio Scariolo — guys that have won championships, guys that have coached at the highest level, won EuroLeague, won internationally. Darko’s an outlier in that he came to the United States as a young coach, coached in the G League, then was an assistant for a long time and then got an opportunity. Everyone wants him to do well because if he can prove that he can coach in this opportunity, they feel like it can really change the pool of talent where the NBA looks for its coaches. But they were a little surprised.”
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Harrison Wind: Nuggets assistant GM Tommy Balcetis says when Denver does bring Ismael Kamagate over from Europe, they want him to be ready to be their backup center immediately. That's a year or two away from potentially happening: "Him playing in Euroleague, playing for a great coach in Ettorre Messina, Milano is such a high-level team. He's going to go there, he's going to be at Ettore Messina University."
League sources say that Scariolo was scheduled to visit Toronto as early as Monday for his second summit with Raptors officials. Stay tuned to see if that meeting goes ahead or if it has to be conducted remotely with Scariolo’s Bologna team due to begin its Italian League best-of-seven championship series Friday against Ettore Messina-coached Olimpia Milano. Masai Ujiri and top aide Bobby Webster already visited Scariolo in Italy early in their search on top of the three seasons the trio has already worked together when Scariolo was an assistant on Nick Nurse's staff.
Tom Orsborn: In talking about how coaches learn from each other, Pop said he picked up some things from a former assistant this summer: "I went to Ettore Messina’s training camp in Milan and came back w/ some things I hadn’t thought about before. We all do that if you want to keep moving on."