CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers will interview San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina at some point this coming week, league sources told cleveland.com. According to a source familiar with Cleveland’s search, the meeting has not officially been set up yet, as the two sides are working to finalize a specific date and time.

Messina, 59, has been one of Gregg Popovich’s top assistants in San Antonio since 2014, coming to the Spurs after a sterling overseas coaching career.

A four-time EuroLeague champion head coach, two-time EuroLeague Coach of the Year, seven-time Italian Cup winner, five-time Russian League champion and four-time Russian League Coach of the Year, Messina is considered one of of the best European coaches of all time.

The Cavaliers went this route five years ago, hiring David Blatt after an extensive search in 2014. But Cleveland believes hiring Messina would be much different because he has gained valuable NBA experience as a Spurs assistant as opposed to being thrust immediately into the top job without any time to get acclimated to the NBA game. The Cavs also don’t have LeBron James coming back home in free agency, changing them from a young, rebuilding team to title contender.

Messina, the former Italian National Team head coach, will become the second member of Popovich’s staff to meet with the Cavs. Ime Udoka talked with Cleveland executives on Sunday, conducting a strong interview while coming across as sharp and knowledgeable.

The Cavs have also met with Dallas assistant Jamahl Mosley, Miami assistant Juwan Howard, former Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Utah Jazz assistant Alex Jensen. Cleveland has also been granted permission to interview Denver assistants Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr. as well as Portland assistants David Vanterpool and Nate Tibbets. Those interviews are likely to take place outside of Cleveland, as the two teams are locked in a tight Western Conference semifinals series.

The Cavs mutually parted ways with Larry Drew shortly after the 2018-19 season ended. Drew guided them to 19 wins, finishing with the league’s second-worst record.

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