Fansided

John Calipari was never close to taking NBA job

By Andrew Melnick

Apr 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts during the championship game of the Final Four against the Connecticut Huskies in the 2014 NCAA Mens Division I Championship tournament at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts during the championship game of the Final Four against the Connecticut Huskies in the 2014 NCAA Mens Division I Championship tournament at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

After the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to part ways with the Mike Brown for the second time, they began an extensive coaching search which eventually ended in Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach David Blatt getting the job. Blatt, who also coached the Russian national team from 2006-2012, was considered an excellent candidate and many expected he would have gotten an NBA job in the next year even if the Cavaliers hadn’t offered him the gig.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers reportedly had another candidate in mind first. They reportedly offered Kentucky Wildcats’ head coach John Calipari a deal worth $80 million over 10 years. Several reports suggested Calipari was close to taking the job before eventually deciding to remain with Kentucky.

However, according to Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal, Calipari was never close to taking the job.

"Despite reports that he was in serious talks with Cleveland – and ultimately turned down the Cavs earlier this summer – Calipari was “not as (close) as everybody thought” to leaving for the NBA. But James, who Calipari has said he’d love to coach, had not made his decision at that point.Would that have made a difference?“No. No. I don’t think so. Because he and I have a great relationship, but it’s not based on me coaching him,” Calipari said. “We’ve got a relationship. I’ve known him for years and years. We’ve always been friends. But it was never based on that. I’ve said that. I’ve had a chance to coach Derrick Rose, John Wall and DeMarcus (Cousins), Anthony Davis and Michael (Kidd-Gilchrist). And I’m leaving names off, but I’ve coached some of the best players in basketball, and it is a thrill. There’s nothing better than that. Especially when those guys are all good guys."

Of course, we’ll probably never know if Calipari was close to leaving or not but if the initial report was true, $80 million must have been tough to pass on.

Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league all summer long.

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers