Kentucky head coach John Calipari. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reports are out that the Sacramento Kings are keen on bringing back former NBA head coach John Calipari to the pro league as the team attempts to salvage a season marred by internal turmoil between George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins.
AOL recently reported, citing Bleacher Report's NBA analyst Ric Bucher, that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is preparing "an offer that John Calipari couldn't refuse", which includes the chance to reunite with his former Kentucky player, Cousins.
Aside from Boogie, Calipari will also have the chance to handle another former Wildcat, this year's sixth overall pick Willie Caulie-Stein, and point guard Rajon Rondo, who was also a Kentucky standout three years before the 56-year-old coach headed there, if ever he accepts the offer.
However, there were speculations that the multi-titled college coach is not keen on leaving the Bluegrass State to run a struggling NBA club that seems to be headed nowhere and does not have a clear vision of the future.
Calipari is said to have one of the best programs in college basketball right now as he has "mastered the art of recruiting" potential college players and his team is a perennial championship contender as well, so why would he give himself the headache of jumping into a sinking ship that are the Kings?
CBS Sports' Matt Moore noted that Sacramento had fired seven head coaches in nine years and Karl would become the eighth if he is indeed axed in midseason. That kind of turnover rate certainly does not appeal to Calipari.
Aside from a mouth-watering salary, maybe a stake in the Kings' ownership and total control of player movement and recruitment would persuade the three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year to return to the NBA, but as of the moment there are no indications that Calipari is moving anywhere.
