The NBA Rumors surrounding John Calipari continue to gain steam, but this time it’s not with the Chicago Bulls. The website BleachReport.com reported that the Cleavland Cavaliers may be interested in Calipari. If the Cavaliers fall short of the NBA Finals, this become more of a reality because their head coach (Mike Brown) will probably lose his job.
In the article, ESPN’s Mark Stein was quoted saying the following….
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
[QUOTE]”Given the stories in circulation this week about John Calipari’s desire to not only return to the NBA someday but also to coach LeBron James someday … and Cleveland’s unexpected struggles in its second-round series with Boston. The exec asked: ‘What if Cleveland doesn’t win this series?
If LeBron is a Calipari fan, why wouldn’t Cleveland go after him?’
“Indeed. Why wouldn’t the Cavs try to enhance their odds of keeping LeBron by hiring Calipari, if it’s ultimately proven that the Bulls really can improve their own hopes of signing LeBron by hiring Coach Cal?
“Rest assured that those questions will be asked loudly if the Cavs, no matter what’s going on with LeBron’s elbow, fail to get past the Celtics in Round Two.
[/QUOTE]I honestly don’t think Calipari is going anywhere but the more I read about it, the more I can see it happening. Especially in a situation where LeBron James is involved.
Earlier in the week, LEX18 had a chance to ask UK’s Patrick Patterson what he thought about the rumors of Calapari leaving for the NBA. Here’s what Patterson had to day…
[QUOTE]“Who wouldn’t want to coach LeBron? I’d want to coach LeBron right now. It’s LeBron James. He’s the king. Who wouldn’t want to coach him? Who wouldn’t want to play along side him. Definitely I can see coach Cal taking that under strong consideration.”
“Fans are always freaking out because they don’t know as much as we do. They just go off of what they hear. The players, we stay cool and calm because we stay in contact with the information.”
Again, I don’t see Coach Cal going anywhere this year, but I’m not so sure about next. If you were to ask me if he would be here five years from now, my answer would have to be “no”.
[/QUOTE]These rumors have also hit home with some of Calipari’s fans in Memphis. It was a little more than a year ago when they were hearing similar rumors of their coach leaving for UK. They remember it so well, they’ve even made a little video for UK fans….
[youtube_sc width=430 url=LrD3E66Bp3Q]
Have you hear Coach Calipari say anything similar to that over the last week? He definitely has a lot of opportunities out there and this is something we all need to get used to.
At the end of the day, Calipari is not any different than the recruits he’s trying to sign. No one will really know what his decision is until he actually does it. I’m hoping that decision is to stay with UK for many years to come.
[B]How many years do you think Coach Calipari will be at UK?[/B]
