Ettore Messina says meeting with Danny Ferry just 'rumors'

The Atlanta Hawks still don't have a head coach and if you believe Ettore Messina the report of him leaving CSKA Moscow for the NBA are just rumors. Messina told R-Sport on Friday that the reported meeting between himself and Danny Ferry was just a rumor.

"They're rumors," said the Italian-born Messina. "It's meaningless to talk about rumors."

Now there is a couple of ways to look at this. Messina has two years remaining on his contract with CSKA and may not want to fuel the hype of his departure. Its also possible that nothing came from the meeting and both sides have moved on. Yahoo Sports originally reported that Ferry had spoken with Messina about the job after scouting him at the Euroleague Final Four.

Updates have been scarce on the Hawks coaching search from the beginning. It was rumored that Stan Van Gundy was at the top of the list and was interviewed but he later indicated that he would not be returning to the sideline next season. Mike Budenholzer is viewed as the favorite if the Hawks can pry him away from the Spurs organization.

There are likely other names in the search but Ferry and the organization are playing things extremely close to the vest.