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5 reasons John Calipari won’t leave Kentucky for the Knicks

By David Austin Bumpus

Jan 31, 2017; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Georgia 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2017; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Georgia 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports /
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Many believe that John Calipari would want to become the head of the Knicks operation, but there’s plenty of reasons for him to stay at Kentucky.

John Calipari is arguably the top coach in the college basketball world right now, so it makes sense that people would think he’d make a great candidate to transition over to the NBA at some point soon.

Now, with the New York Knicks looking for a new president after firing Phil Jackson earlier this week, there are reports floating around that Calipari put his name into the conversation for the job through intermediaries on Thursday. Who knows for sure if this actually happened or if anything will come from it, but it seems like it may not be the right move for Calipari in the grand scheme of things.

Obviously a job in the NBA may seem a bit more prestigious, especially as a team’s president, than a head coaching job in college. However, there’s plenty of reasons for Calipari to stay at the University of Kentucky in his current situation, rather than force his way into the job with the Knicks.

Some may not think he should stay at Kentucky, but to make it easy for those doubting it, here are five reasons why Calipari shouldn’t take the job as the Knicks’ new president.

5. The Knicks didn’t take Malik Monk

There are plenty of other reasons that could’ve started this list, but this seems like an easy starting point.

While this could be viewed as a reason why he may be seriously considering the job with the Knicks, I view it as a reason why he’d stay away from changing employment. Calipari was reportedly upset that the Knicks didn’t take Malik Monk, who played for Calipari this past season at Kentucky, with their eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

The team took Frank Ntilikina with the pick instead, and Monk fell to the 11th pick in the draft for the Charlotte Hornets to swoop in and take him.

It’s obviously interesting now to see that Calipari is interested in the Knicks job, and wanted his best player from last year to join the team so badly. However, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to want to join a team who doesn’t value your opinion on what’s a good fit for such a talented player that Calipari obviously knows incredibly well.

It obviously may not be a big deal, and Calipari may not care as much about the Monk pick as we all think he might. However, it does show a lack of trust if he did reach out to the team at all to tell them that Monk would be their guy, and may not be an appealing look for a new gig.

It seems like a valid reason, and a good starting point as to why he shouldn’t take this new Knicks job. Oh, and because it’s the Knicks.