John Calipari has guided Kentucky to a (so far) undefeated record this season, three Final Fours and a national championship. He’s sitting pretty in Lexington, and with a few more standout seasons he could make an argument as the greatest Wildcats coach since Adolph Rupp.
But Coach Cal might not be satisfied to merely be a legend in the collegiate game.
Calipari “desperately” wants to get back into the NBA, a Brooklyn Nets front office official told Steve Popper of The Record. Just as he was back in 1996, Calipari could be asked to save the floundering Nets, according to Popper. But this time, Calipari and the team apparently believe the results would be better.
“He desperately wants it,” the unnamed official told Popper. “He won’t say it out loud. The NBA is the only place he’s ever failed and it drives him nuts. He’s not the same guy he was then. He came to the NBA and he wasn’t ready. He’s ready now.”
The Nets have fallen flat the last two seasons despite some blockbuster moves. Their win total actually decreased last season under Jason Kidd after the high-profile additions of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and at 30-40 this season they are currently out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture under Lionel Hollins.
Calipari coached the Nets for parts of three seasons when the club was based in New Jersey before he was fired with three-quarters of the season remaining in 1998-99. He left New Jersey with a 72-112 overall NBA coaching record.
Thumbnail photo via Jamie Rhodes/USA TODAY Sports Images
