Coaching salaries are getting totally out of hand at all levels.
John Calipari has just signed a new seven year, $52 million dollar extension that will keep him at Kentucky.
Coach Cal has been one of the hottest coaches in college basketball ever since he arrived in the Bluegrass and coached the Wildcats to a national championship in 2012 and two more Final Four appearances since 2011.
Apparently the Cleveland Cavaliers was impressed too. Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert, who has been looking for a new caoch to replace Mike Brown and is desperate to make a splash ever since LeBron James left for Miami as a free agent, was in deep discussions to bring Caliparti to the NBA on a seven-year, $60 million-plus contract to become president and coach. There was even one report that suggested the deal would have been in the $80 million range. Calipari had accepted the Cavs’ offer, Gilbert’s plan was for new GM David Griffin to work with Calipari in the front office, but Calipari would have had the final say on al personnel matters.
Negotiations continued until the middle of last week when Calipari opted to stay in his comfort zone.
NBA coaching deals are lucrative, but the fact seven NBA franchises dumped coaches this year is a strong indication owners want immediate gratification. Calipari has strong relationships with a number of the league’s stars but Cleveland isn’t a big market town like Los Angeles or New York and we all know how much trouble both of those teams have had locating a coach.
More and more NBA franchises are trying to tie the role of coach with more power in terms of decision making. Doc Rivers of the Clippers, Gregg Popavich of the Spurs, Stan Van Gundy of the Pistons and Flip Saunders of Minneosta T-Wolves all have dual roles.
Before Calipari’s decision to stay in college, the big question in Cleveland was whether he was worth the money. Calipari has a 555-174 record as a head coach at UMass, Memphis and Kentucky. But his record in a brief stint with the Nets was not quite as impressive. Calipari previously coached the Nets from 1996-97 through the start of the 1998-99 season when the team fired him after a 3-17 start. He posted a regular-season record of 72-112, making the playoffs once in three seasons. His 1997-98 Nets fell in a first-round sweep to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
Calipari probably made the right move here. It’s nice to be king.
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