NBA rumors: John Calipari reached out about Knicks vacancy
By John Buhler
Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari has reportedly let it be known to members of the New York Knicks organization he’s interested in the presidency.
The New York Knicks are literally directionless, as owner James Dolan just fired former team president Phil Jackson on Wednesday morning. This comes less than a week after the 2017 NBA Draft and after four years of sheer horror for Knicks fans.
New York has an opportunity to get this right by hiring someone capable of being team president. Steve Mills remains the club’s general manager, but this organization is in need of a facelift and then some.
On the same day that the Knicks seriously considered former team president Isiah Thomas for the job, Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari has let it be known that he would be interested in the presidential vacancy with the Knicks.
Sources: John Calipari reached out to NYK through intermediaries to express interest in presidency. More: https://t.co/dLt8AMV9MP
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 29, 2017
ESPN’s Ian Begley writes that “Kentucky head coach John Calipari reached out to Knicks through intermediaries to express interest in the Knicks presidency.” Begley would add that “Calipari would want to coach as well if he took over as president.”
Okay. That’s a lot to digest right there. First, Calipari is seriously considering leaving one of the top-three gigs in men’s college basketball for the biggest grease fire in the NBA. He may have only won one national title at Kentucky, but the amount of job security he has in Lexington is light years away from what he’d have with the Knicks.
Second, the Knicks organization is leaking news like this to Begley constantly. Either New York is far from buttoned up — which is obvious — or Calipari is trying to flex the University of Kentucky for more money. Hopefully it’s the latter, as his previous tenure in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets didn’t go over so well. He drafted Kerry Kittles over Kobe Bryant.
Finally, how does Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek feel about this? Should Dolan bring Calipari aboard, that would mean Hornacek would be out of job immediately. Does Calipari really strike you as a team builder or as a basketball coach?
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Nothing and everything is shocking all at the same time for the Knicks. We can only believe that this next chapter of the Knicks saga will get weirder and weirder.