by Paul Jordan
If I were John Calipari, I may be a little bit offended. The man is a Hall of Fame caliber college coach and has popularized one of the more innovative college offenses, the DDMO. He is sending five players to the NBA this year and he is known as the quintessential coach in the NCAA to send players to the NBA. And oh yea, he is responsible for the last two NBA rookies of the year and may very well be sending the third one in John Wall.
Yet none of these sportswriters that bandy about Calipari’s name for the NBA jobs can not do so without mentioning LeBron James. Even though being a NBA coach has nothing to do with recruiting really, it seems that all these NBA jobs are looking at Calipari for is his perceived ability to land LeBron James.
Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald is the latest to touch on this theory as he decides that “Hiring Calipari to coach Bulls would be a foolish move”.
But what James really wants in his basketball career is to play for John Calipari. At least, that’s what a flood of recent news stories have suggested.
If the Bulls hire Calipari as head coach, LeBron will follow. Unless, of course, the Cavs make a pre-emptive strike and replace Mike Brown with the first-year coach at Kentucky.
Is this all that John Calipari has proven in his 18 years as a innovative college coach? That wherever he goes, he will land LeBron James? Is that all that he would roster? I would not think so. College coaches have been hired for the NBA with far lesser resumes that Calipari and not one of them have been attached to the stigma of delivering (or maintaining – as the Calipari to the Cavs rumors suggest) a NBA superstar.
And if that is all these NBA teams are interested in Calipari for, he should frankly be insulted. But almost every Calipari NBA rumor this year seems to hinge on Cal and LeBron being a package deal. The whole New Jersey rumor was predicated on King LeBron as the Bulls rumor seems to be.
Being a Kentucky fan, I am a hell of a lot more scared about the Sacramento Kings landing the number one ping pong ball, drafting John Wall, and having a Tyreke Evans/John Wall combo to lure Calipari with. That way, if Cal goes to the Kings and has NBA success, he can do it with HIS players and with HIS system …. and ultimately be the savior on his skills alone.
Even in Chicago, the “Calipari returning to coach Derrick Rose” angle is not getting a whole lot of play. It’s all, “LeBron, LeBron, LeBron”. And for a coach of Calipari’s stature, its a sign of disrespect.
I think that Calipari is a smart guy and realizes this to a point. He realizes that if he coaches LeBron in the show, the focus will be on LeBron and not what he does. And talk about pressure … if whatever team lands Cal and LeBron falters out of the gate, expect the “What’s wrong with Cal and LeBron” stories to start immediately and for their relationship to be scrutinized under the microscope.
No, I think that John Calipari has enough of an ego where if he does take an NBA job, it is where he will be the main focus and it will be HIS team, and not LeBron’s team. That is why I think Wall and Tyreke Evans on the Kings squad will be a much more tempting scenario for Calipari … it gives him a chance to build upon a NBA roster with his players and create his own legacy in the NBA, not serve as wrangler for LeBron’s legend.
But first … I don’t think Calipari is going anywhere until he wins a NCAA title and that the 2011 class he is assembling is going to be too much for Calipari to step away from … even for his good friend LeBron.
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans