A Thought About John Calipari

Its that time of year when pundits and wags ponder which NBA city Calipari will parachute off to.  I've always been skeptical of Calipari going back to the NBA because he knows better than anyone how hard it is to win.  And at this point in his life I reckon Calipari would rather be a winner than just about anything else.  Furthermore, his skill set is better suited to college: he takes high school kids and he turns them into pros.  That's what he does, that's his thing.  I don't mean to suggest he'd be a terrible choice to coach the Knicks or Lakers or whoever the team d'jour, just that his skill set is in molding and shaping pros not dealing with the finished product.  (I do believe Cal would be interested in coaching USA if/when Coach K ever shuffles off, but that shouldn't interrupt Wildcat time)

At Kentucky Cal is free to control every minute of every day whereas in the pros he'd be well paid to be helpless.  The NBA can't guarantee success or control or glory.  All the NBA can provide is more money...I hate to be that guy but...Kentucky can come up with more money if that's all it is.  Kentucky is the perfect spot for Cal to hone his skills, pile up W's, maybe another championship or two (though beware Cats fans: he prizes high draft picks as much as if not more than banners), before he gets a plum gig at ESPN and basks in his Hall of Fame retirement.  The NBA is a hassle, winning is great but losing probably sucks pretty bad.  If the perfect NBA gig came along Cal would have to think it over, leverage the offer if nothing else, but even with the perfect gig it would be hard to leave UK (4 Finals Fours in 6 years, remember).  

Say the soon to be playoff-tested New Orleans Pelicans decide Monte Williams just isn't the guy to steward Anthony Davis going forward and fire him (very possible, maybe even likely, btw), who better to get the most out of AD than his old ball coach, Cal.  Would Cal jump at the job of well-paid mentor to the most exciting, arguably all-around best basketball player in the world?  No.  The rest of the roster is a mess and the Western Conference is murder, having the best player is a great advantage in basketball but it ain't everything.  And as long as the Pelicans are mired with the likes Evans (another Cal men-tee), Gordon (still the worst contract in the league), Holiday (nice player but oft-injured) and no draft picks coming, that gig would be a pain in the ass even with Anthony Davis on your roster. 

So even though it happens every year and will continue to happen, I don't see Cal leaving UK.  Unless...imagine this scenario: the Cavs make mincemeat of the Celtics, then get tested by the Bulls, they pull together, Love hits a few big shots, the Cavs breeze through the East, bond as a team Spur-style, then get waxed in the Finals.  The team needs a fall guy for losing in the Finals.  Not Lebron, not Kyrie, not Love (now an integral part of the offense and positive vibe, sticks around instead of bailing), not Varajao or Thompson or Mozgov.  Lebron says Blatt has to go.  Would that be a good spot for Cal?  Fuck yeah it would!

Lebron and Kyrie pretty much guarantee dominance in the East for the next 5-6 years (maybe not Jordan-Pippen dominance or even Lebron-Bosh-Wade dominance, probably more like a Chauncey-Tayshaun-Rasheed-Rip kinda dominance).  In the scenario above, Love sticks around and the three of them make it work, the rest of the cast is pretty well set with enough cap flexibility to stay frisky.  Dude that team is gonna crush in the East.  And all Cal has to do is show up to the press conferences.  As we all know Lebron is already the GM and head coach, Cal would basically just be a freelance media consultant to Lebron, more of an assistant to Lebron than a control freak kinda coach.  Love is key: without Love the roster is out of balance and while Lebron-Kyrie will be attractive to free agents, you never know who's gonna be available down the road.  Keeping Love as a successful part of the tandem is just too good to pass up.  Also, if Love splits, then he becomes the scapegoat and potentially buys Blatt another year to discover the best ways to remove thorns from Lebron's paws as a way of keeping himself useful.  

Lebron-Kyrie-Love coming together and ALMOST winning is the beauty scenario--and I would suggest truly the only scenario--that gets Cal back to the NBA.  Think about it: Lebron is Sinatra, Kyrie is Sammy D, Love is Peter Lawford, Cal slides right in as Dean Martin.  David Blatt is more of a Joey Bishop.  Cal would be the perfect foil for Lebron: the coach who would say all the right things and never get in the damn way.  Of course, the scenario above is really quite sensitive, a lot of things could conspire to bring back Blatt or drive away Love or otherwise muck up the perfect vibe Cal is seeking.  But if it came to pass and Cal thought he could go pro with a killer squad in the East, I reckon he might jump on that....and that might happen some time in late June.    

If Cal leaves will Kentucky be able to hold on to Cal's recruiting network?  And can UK pry Brad Stevens away from the Celtics?   Stevens is the only one who could follow Cal.