Spurs watch a familiar face return to NBA without coming back home

The San Antonio Spurs will enter the upcoming season with largely the same crew from top to bottom. 

Their biggest loss is associate head coach Sean Sweeney, who now heads to Orlando for a head-coaching gig. Interestingly, one of their old top assistants just returned to the NBA, but this time, he will not be coming back home to Alamo City.

Ettore Messina was a key figure for successful Spurs squads

Ettore Messina, a prominent figure in San Antonio as the right-hand man to Gregg Popovich from 2014 to 2019, is reportedly returning to the NBA as a consultant for the Atlanta Hawks next season.

Known for being one of the best minds in European basketball, Messina will bring a wealth of knowledge to a Hawks brain trust looking to lead their team to a breakthrough in the 2026-27 campaign. 

The Hawks made a slew of win-now moves this offseason, meaning that even a stronger Eastern Conference will not slow down their quest to chase supremacy. All-Star forward Jalen Johnson will lead them next season, and Messina's presence as a consultant should especially come in handy on the tactical side for Quin Snyder and his staff.

San Antonio especially knows just how proficient Messina is when it comes to coaching. While Popovich was the main reason for the success during the former's stint with the Spurs, he operated quietly as another voice of reason for the coaching staff with his abundance of basketball knowledge. Especially when it came to the European style of play, which the Spurs incorporated into their program.

That is precisely what the Hawks are adding to their brass. Hopefully, it ends up having a great, although quiet, impact on the way they do things next season.