I will admit that I am one of the guys always trumpeting for a better coach than the one we currently have. I am not sure who is out there that would be a potential fit, so when people do push back with "well, who would you have coach the Pels?" I am often not sure who to name, because I don't keep a finger on the pulse of the NBA coaching circles. But this article was a great read for guys like me, who want a head coach, but aren't sure who the best fit would be. It lists quite a few guys, and why they would be great as Head Coaches in the NBA.
If you are like me, give it a read, and tell me who you would replace Gentry with (this is assuming that Demps is also gone).
I really like the idea of bringing in ...http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page...rospects-watch
IF NBA HEAD COACHES appear more on edge these days, you'll have to excuse their anxiety. Forty percent of them didn't hold their current position on New Year's Day 2016, some 15 months ago. In Oklahoma City, Billy Donovan has served longer than half of the head coaches in the league, and Mike Budenholzer has the sixth-longest tenure at four seasons. So much for continuity, which the league trumpets as the mother's milk of team-building.
Paradoxically, there's a broad consensus in NBA circles that the league has never been better served by those roving the sidelines in 2017. Though few coaches receive 100 percent approval ratings, league insiders were hard-pressed to come up with a name when asked off the record if they could identify a lousy head coach. Most criticisms came with caveats for younger coaches who were growing into their roles, which is understandable because the task has never been more daunting.
Ettore Messina, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach
Placing Messina on a list of rising stars in the coaching field feels sacrilegious. At 57, he is one of international basketball's most distinguished coaches in history, a winner of four Euroleague championships and a slew of league titles in Italy and Russia. Messina has coached in just about every basketball context imaginable, which makes him a top candidate in an era when diversity of experience is considered a prime attribute for a future head coach.
After his career in Europe, Messina came stateside to join Mike Brown's staff in Los Angeles as a consultant before returning to Moscow for a couple of seasons. While in Moscow in 2012-13, he employed Quin Snyder as an assistant; Messina is godfather to Snyder's infant son. In 2014, Messina took his lifetime of experience into the crucible that is the San Antonio Spurs.
Messina is intense, but the Spurs also have a way of smoothing off rough edges in a personality. In Europe, player development occurs primarily at the youth level, but in San Antonio, Messina has been exposed to its importance in the NBA, further filling out his education. Tactically, Messina fashioned in Europe an intelligent brand of inside-out ball that forces defenses to move. He has amassed a canon of basketball knowledge and commands respect from professionals, young and old.
Those who know Messina say he'd more likely gravitate toward a team with a veteran roster, but given the breadth of his portfolio, any team looking for a serious, dedicated leader might very well have Messina on its target list.
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Originally Posted by stormcenter
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