Report: Kings reach out to Calipari about coaching, front-office jobs
The fallout from the reported rift between Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl and star big man DeMarcus Cousins appears to be ongoing.
The Kings are gauging John Calipari's interest in taking over the franchise's front-office and coaching jobs, Yahoo Sports/FOX Sports 1 NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday.
Calipari, who has coached the University of Kentucky since 2009, has had discussions with Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and other members of the Kings ownership group, according to the report. The team understands that it will take at least $10 million annually to lure Calipari from the Wildcats, though no formal offer has been made, Wojnarowski reports.
Calipari coached Cousins for one season in 2009-10 and, according to the report, Ranadive believes Calipari can convince Cousins to stay with the franchise and not demand to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Calipari denied the report on Twitter.
Since he bought the team, @Vivek and I have talked on and off about @boogiecousins.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 30, 2015
.@Vivek has asked me what I thought about @boogiecousins and I told him he would be an all-star, and I was right.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 30, 2015
In the last two weeks, we’ve also talked a bunch about the draft and on draft day, obviously because of @ThewillieCS15.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 30, 2015
At no time has @Vivek offered me a job. I WILL BE AT KENTUCKY.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 30, 2015
The Kings reportedly had discussions with the Lakers before last week's draft regarding sending Cousins to Los Angeles for the No. 2 pick along with other assets. Ranadive reportedly was against dealing Cousins and has since tried to rebuild the relationship between the team and its franchise player.
Some believe that the Kings drafted former Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein with the No. 6 pick in order to appease Cousin, who spent one season with the Wildcats. That might not be enough for Cousins, who averaged 24.1 points and 12.7 rebounds last season.
Karl has three years and nearly $10 million left on his contract, which he signed in February. The team is trying to determine if there's a way to terminate him for "cause" and avoid paying him what's left on his deal, according to the report.
