The Kentucky Wildcats barely had time to change out of their uniforms after losing the national championship game and coach John Calipari already had to answer questions about his future. Specifically, he had to answer a question about possibly jumping to the NBA to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.
No, John Calipari isn’t taking the Lakers job
Let’s just nip this in the bud right now.
Jamie Squire
Calipari’s response was short and to the point.
Cal on Lakers: "The Lakers have a basketball coach. Kentucky has a basketball coach. I have the best job in the country."
— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) April 8, 2014 Where did the rumor originate from? None other than former Kentucky player, Rex Chapman, who dropped this hot scoop on Twitter just before the game started.
Was messin' 'round on Sat nite re: Cal. But word is - win or lose 2nite - it's a #DoneDeal ...Cal 2 La-La-Land 2 coach Mamba's Lakers. #NoBS
— Rex Chapman (@rexchapman) April 7, 2014 The L.A. Times picked it up, but buried in that story is this quote from the Lakers themselves, who have denied the rumor.
“I spoke to [General Manager] Mitch Kupchak and he said the rumor is untrue,” Lakers spokesman John Black said. “Mike D’Antoni is our coach. There have been no conversations about any specific names for any replacement.”
Now, the Lakers have had a rough go of it lately. They're 25-52 so far, just one game ahead of dead last in the Western Conference. And indeed, they could be looking to move on from Mike D'Antoni and give aging superstar Kobe Bryant one last shot at a playoff run. Will Calipari be the man to accomplish that? Who knows. For now, let's assume that Calipari will stay in Lexington and try not to give any weight to "reports" this ungrounded.
Remember when Nick Saban to Texas was a “done deal?”
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