If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Winds Of Change: Calipari Reportedly Interested In Bulls’ Coaching Vacancy
It is simple advice that apparently acts as a life motto for Kentucky basketball head coach John Calipari. On the same day the Bulls fired Vinny Del negro after two 41-41 seasons, Calipari is “intrigued” with the recent opening on Chicago’s bench, and is “willing to listen to a pitch from [Chicago] management,” according to Yahoo!‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Calipari took over the Nets after eight seasons at Massachusetts. In New Jersey, he was just 72-112 in a little over two years with the team (he was fired during the 1998-99 season after a 3-17 start). Calipari was at Memphis from 2000-09 before taking over at Kentucky just last season.
And now, he may be eyeing another jump back to the pros.
Sources say the combination of roster talent, tradition and market make Chicago one of the few NBA jobs that could pry Calipari out of Kentucky. The Bulls have been hesitant to pay the $4 million-$5 million annual packages it would take to lure high-profile coaches like Calipari. [...]
Calipari could be an intriguing candidate on several levels for the Bulls. He coached Bulls star point guard, Derrick Rose, at the University of Memphis, and his strong ties with the powerful agency, CAA, could give the organization leverage in free agency this summer.
Oh, and there's one more connection worth mentioning: "Calipari is close with Cleveland's LeBron James, and shares representation with two of the Bulls' top free-agent targets - Miami's Dwyane Wade and Toronto's Chris Bosh."
Expect plenty more reaction to this at our Bulls blog, Blog-A-Bull, and our Kentucky blog, A Sea Of Blue.
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