John Calipari Denies Interest in Return to NBA (Again)

As much as anything, that’s why Nets CEO Brett Yormark is determined to repackage John Calipari as a franchise savior. So now, there promises to be two parallel searches for the Brooklyn Nets’ next GM and coach: one that includes traditional candidates; and one that is the dance with Calipari.

The Nets fired head coach Lionel Hollins on Sunday, and are reportedly seeking to make Calipari the head coach and president of the team. He has been at Kentucky since 2009 and seems perfectly content there, often shooting down any National Basketball Association rumors he’s associated with. A similar role to the one Stan Van Gundy has with the Detroit Pistons and Doc Rivers has with the Los Angeles Clippers. So when it comes to free agency, he could have a leg up due to his relationship with his former players.

Eventually, Calipari engaged in conversations with the Kings on and off for several weeks, but owner Vivek Ranadive didn’t have the minority ownership support to authorize that kind of an investment, sources told Yahoo Sports. According to Wojnarowski, Calipari told the Kings it would take an offer of at least $11 million per year to make him consider leaving Kentucky, where he makes between $8 million and $9 million per season.

But Calipari, who signed a seven-year, $54 million extension at Kentucky in May, rebuffed interest from the Sacramento Kings last offseason and the Cleveland Cavaliers the summer before that. Phil Jackson’s contract with the Knicks is $120 million over 10 years.

Simply put, Calipari wants to be the highest-paid coach in the National Basketball Association if he leaves Kentucky. He runs basically everything at there and is quite comfortable, why leave if not for more money? It will be interesting to see if either of these teams offer Calipari the money he is looking for but in the case of the Nets specifically they might be desperate enough to bring in a star head coach since the product on the floor is not very intriguing right now.

Calipari is asking a lot from the Nets.