By Glenn Osborne
Special to NKyTribune
Hours after media speculation in New Orleans that he was interested in discussing a move to the NBA’s Pelicans, Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari said Tuesday he had no plans to pursue the position.
Calipari released a statement on his Twitter feed, UKCoachCalipari, and it was relayed through the UK media relations office.
“Even though Anthony and Tyreke are in New Orleans, I have no interest in coaching the Pelicans or any other coaching position,” he said. “I have a great job and I’m happy at Kentucky.”
Anthony, of course, refers to former Kentucky All-American Anthony Davis while Tyreke is Tyreke Evans, who played for Calipari at Memphis.
John Reid, a reporter for The Times Picayune, wrote on the website NOLA.com that a source close to Calipari had let Pelicans’ officials know that he had an interest in discussing the vacant head coaching job. The article also said that Calipari’s $8 million annual salary, combined with a $1.6 loyalty bonus due in July, probably made the Kentucky head man a little too rich for the Pelicans’ ownership’s blood.
The current frontrunners for the position are Golden State assistant Alvin Gentry and Chicago Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau. The article said the Pelicans were likely looking for a coach who would earn $4-$5 million annually.
Calipari recently agreed to a one-year contract extension at UK which would run through 2022 and be worth a total of $54 million.
Click here to read Reid’s story.
Calipari coached Davis for one year in 2011-12 when he was the NCAA Player of the Year and led the Wildcats to their most recent national title.
Glenn Osborne is sports editor for KyForward.com, where this story originally appeared.