Kings want John Calipari to be their coach and GM, per report

The Kings haven’t made a formal offer yet and Calipari has consistently denied interest in leaving Lexington for the NBA in recent years, which happened again after this report came out:

However, Wojnarowski says the Kentucky head coach has listened to scenarios from Sacramento. It would likely take a multiyear deal worth at least $10 million annually to convince Calipari to leave Kentucky.

Karl has three years, $10 million left on his contract, but Sacramento reportedly has lawyers looking at his deal to see if he can be terminated for “cause.” Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has become dismayed with Karl’s desire to get star center DeMarcus Cousins traded, and a move to hire Calipari would be done with Cousins in mind. Calipari coached Cousins in the big man’s lone season at Kentucky.

So, would Calipari really leave his kingdom at Kentucky to join the most dysfunctional organization in the NBA?

Calipari has built an empire in Lexington, but he’s supposedly had that itch to get back into the pro coaching game after a rough go-round with the New Jersey Nets in the late 1990s. His name has recently come up a lot for NBA jobs despite all his denials, and he reportedly had interest in coaching Anthony Davis, another former player at Kentucky, in New Orleans. However, the Pelicans weren’t ready to give him full control of basketball operations.

The Kings are just crazy enough to give Calipari that control, and perhaps having all that money, NBA power and the chance to coach Cousins again would be enough to entice him to bolt Lexington for Sacramento. College recruiting is also a major process and time commitment, and wanting to get away from that could be another reason to leave.

Again, Calipari is the king of college basketball and a legend in Lexington with a job for life if he wants it. Money? Check. Power? Check. Highly successful teams year in and year out? Check. Why would he leave all that to go work for an organization that has consistently shown it doesn’t know what it’s doing?

Perhaps the situation in Sacramento would stabilize if Calipari went there, but it’s not like he’s had experience running an NBA front office. Selling the Kentucky brand and future NBA success may be a cakewalk in Lexington, but running a successful NBA franchise is a whole different ballgame. Couple that with a meddlesome owner who’s blindly throwing ideas at the wall and hoping they stick, and the Kings aren’t the most attractive destination.

Never say never, but Calipari’s denials were pretty firm and it doesn’t make much sense for him to leave Kentucky for the mess in Sacramento. Sure, there are a few attractive things about going to the Kings, but it’s not enough. I give it a 1/10 chance of happening.

SB Nation partners: The Kings would be crazy to trade Cousins