For all the access that William Wesley, the famous World Wide Wes, has provided Calipari to star recruits, basketball’s most mysterious dealmaker is well positioned to bridge a Calipari deal with the Knicks too. Creative Artists Agency has its tentacles deep into the Knicks. Dolan still has to make a run first for Phil Jackson, and he could command a three-year, $35 million deal with those 11 titles and his own Knicks championship pedigree. Once the Knicks are done with interim coach Mike Woodson, Jackson still remains a possibility.
Whatever happens, Calipari isn’t leaving Kentucky to simply return to the NBA. He has it too good there, and only the Knicks would pay Calipari like a Doc Rivers, a Gregg Popovich. No general manager in the NBA would hire Calipari, only an owner. No front-office executive wants the power struggle with him – never mind believes he’s a difference maker. That’s what makes the Knicks and Calipari so intriguing: This is the job that will give him pause – Madison Square Garden, New York, the resources, all of it.
He has the relationship with LeBron James that Mike D’Antoni never did, has World Wide Wes on his side, and there’s always that contract opt-out in 2014 for James. With Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler on the payroll for years to come, recruiting James is a tough scenario. No cap issues at Kentucky, and nothing stands between Calipari and a run of Final Fours and NCAA titles.
Yes, the prospects of winning as Knicks coach are murkier, but John Calipari has never been about the sure thing. He loves that NBA lifestyle, loves the money, loves the biggest stage of all. When Kentucky finally won him his title on Monday night, he insisted that it would mean that he could coach without all the drama now. He didn’t mean it. John Calipari has the Wildcats wired for victory for years and years, but there’s bigger money and brighter lights calling in the distance.
