Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: Report -- Knicks Not High on Calipari

IamaGM.com reports on a story in the New York Post that suggests Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari is not as high on the New York Knicks list of possible head coaching candidates as have previously been reported. Here is the relevant section from the Post article:

"Woodson is old-school 1980’s basketball,’’ said a person connected to the coaching staff. "Players respect that.’’

Calipari, who some NBA executives believe will become a viable candidate, does not have that cache with NBA players. Calipari could stand as a risk, considering his NBA flop with the Nets and theatrical coaching style that his former Kentucky player, Knicks rookie Josh Harrellson, admitted might be too much for the league. Calipari probably would adjust, but why take a $7 million-per-year gamble that his college methods will work instantaneously in the NBA’s. There are indications he is not high on the Knicks’ list.

This is the first report I have seen on the subject that makes any sense, although I admit it is possible that's because it mirrors my own thinking. Objectivity is a myth, and I don't intend to continue perpetrating it.

Be that as it may, Harrellson raises a point here I had not previously considered; that Calipari's style is not a fit for the NBA, and that may well be so. Unfortunately, I don't watch enough NBA basketball to know, so I'll willingly take Josh's word for it -- he has seen a lot of NBA basketball this year, and has Calipari to thank for that, although to be fair, he has himself to thank in almost equal measure.

The thing is, Calipari is really highly paid right now, and he is in line for a raise at UK. Assuming that amounts to something over $4 million, a $7 million contract with the Knicks, a team with a notoriously mercurial front office (and by that I flatter them unmercifully), doesn't seem to be all that attractive, even if he were #1 on their list. Calipari can work at UK pretty much until he wants to retire, but the Knicks job is, if history is any guide, a short-term lease at best.

In the end, if Calipari really wants another stab at the NBA, there will be better jobs than this. He can afford to wait, just like he waited for the job at Kentucky.