Currently, there are four NBA teams without a head coach – the Atlanta Hawks, the Charlotte Hornets, the Orlando Magic, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Over the past days, Spurs assistant coaches James Borrego, Ettore Messina, and Ime Udoka have been linked to a few of the teams with head coaching vacancies.
Now, two more Spurs staffers will join their colleagues as candidates for the head coaching vacancies, as Spurs Vice President of Basketball Operations Monty Williams will interview with the Bucks, and the Bucks will interview Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon for their head coaching vacancy. Hammon’s interview will make her the first female to ever interview for a head coaching vacancy in the NBA.
Here’s a quick rundown of the head coaching openings each Spurs staffer has been linked to this offseason (all reported information from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com):
Becky Hammon – Bucks
According to Wojnarowski, Hammon isn’t considered a frontrunner for the Bucks’ head coaching position, but Milwaukee has had prior interest in her after they were considering her for their General Manager position in 2017. Hammon just completed her fourth season as an assistant coach on Head Coach Gregg Popovich’s bench with the Spurs. She also coached the Spurs’ Summer League teams in 2015 and 2016 and she coached the 2015 Summer League team to a Summer League Championship.
Monty Williams – Bucks
Williams has been the Spurs’ VP of Basketball Operations since August of 2016, and he was also the New Orleans Pelicans’ head coach from 2010-2015. Williams has also spent time as an assistant coach in the past with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers, and he has been an assistant coach for Team USA.
James Borrego – Bucks, Hornets, Hawks
Borrego is considered one of the frontrunners for the Hornets’ head coaching vacancy at the moment, and he’s also been linked to the Bucks and Hawks as a potential head coach. Borrego just completed his second season as an assistant coach with the Spurs. Prior to that, he spent three seasons with the Magic as an assistant and even became the interim head coach in Orlando for part of the 2014-15 season.
Ettoree Messina – Bucks, Hornets
Messina is expected to interview with the Bucks on Saturday. He has also been interviewed by the Hornets as well for their head coaching availability. Messina has been a Spurs assistant coach for the past four seasons and before that, he built a distinguished resume coaching overseas, where he was named one of the Euroleague’s 10 Great All-Time coaches in 2008.
Ime Udoka – Magic, Hawks, Hornets
Udoka has been linked to the Magic, Hawks, and Hornets for their head coaching vacancies. He just completed his sixth season an assistant for the Spurs. Udoka coached the Spurs’ Summer League team during the summers of 2013 and 2014.
