Toronto Raptors: 5 candidates to replace Dwane Casey as head coach

3. Ettore Messina

San Antonio Spurs assistant Ettore Messina has not been reported as being among the potential candidates to fill the Raptors’ coaching vacancy. However, Messina is more than qualified to take the reins in Toronto.

Messina has 24 years of head coaching experience, leading club teams in Italy, Spain and Russia. He has headed four EuroLeague title teams, two with Virtus Bologna and two with Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow. Internationally, Messina has also helmed the national team for his homeland of Italy on two occasions: 1993-97 and 2015-17.

Messina brought his talents to the NBA in recent years, first as a consultant under Mike Brown for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2011-12 season. He returned to the NBA in 2014 when he took his current role on the Spurs staff.

In his five seasons assisting NBA teams, including filling in as head coach on occasion, Messina has learned how to take his European success and combine it with his understanding of how to run an NBA team.

Messina has already interviewed with the Hornets, a position that went to fellow Spurs assistant James Borrego. He also just missed out on being the first head coach from outside of North America to be a head coach in the NBA, as Serbia’s Igor Kokoskov accepted the Phoenix Suns job on May 14.

However, Ettore Messina is still a name worth considering, as he has the pedigree to become a successful NBA coach. The Raptors would be remiss if they didn’t give him at least an interview.