Report: Hornets permitted to interview Spurs assistant Ettore Messina

The search is officially underway for a new Charlotte Hornets head coach and the first candidate has emerged.

The team has been granted permission to interview San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Charlotte fired Steve Clifford on Friday following a disappointing campaign that saw the Hornets finish 10th in the Eastern Conference. The club had a cumulative 196-214 record in five seasons with him at the helm, reaching the postseason twice.

Clifford's dismissal came fresh off the organization's appointment of Mitch Kupchak as the new general manager and president of basketball operations. Like team owner Michael Jordan, Kupchak has strong ties to North Carolina. Those same ties linked the Hornets in rumors to Jerry Stackhouse, who starred for the Tar Heels before carving out a long NBA career. More recently, he's impressed as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors' G League affiliate the past two seasons.

Messina, 58, also has ties to Kupchak as they worked together for the Los Angeles Lakers when the former was a member Mike Brown's coaching staff. The Italian gaffer has spent the past four years learning from one of the league's top bench bosses in Gregg Popovich. Before that, he won four EuroLeague championships and two Coach of the Year awards, and was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2014, Messina filled in on the sidelines when Popovich missed time due to a medical issue. The Pop disciple was previously considered for the Lakers opening, which went to Luke Walton, and the Houston Rockets job, which Mike D'Antoni claimed. Should Messina land the Charlotte gig, he'd become the first European-born head coach in NBA history.