NBA Rumors: New Jersey Nets Foolish to Consider John Calipari

The New Jersey Nets may soon set foot in a dark chapter of their miserable past as they look ahead to a bright future in Brooklyn.

According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the Nets are considering bringing John Calipari back on board, assuming GM Billy King gives Avery Johnson the boot before the start of the 2012-13 campaign. The Nets are 12-27 so far this season and have compiled an overall record of 36-85 since The General took over in 2010.

Not that welcoming Coach Cal into the fold would help their fortunes any. Calipari spent just over two seasons as the coach in New Jersey between 1996 and 1999, during which time the Nets won 72 games and lost 112, not including a first-round sweep in the 1998 playoffs.

Coach Cal has long been thought to desire a return to the pros since suffering through that failed stint. He built a powerhouse program at Memphis and has revitalized Kentucky's legendary program with his deft touch on the recruiting trail.

Perhaps it's that same ability to persuade pliable minds and sell talented hoopsters on new destinations that has the Nets brass so intrigued. They'll need all the help they can get this summer, when they attempt to convince Deron Williams to stay and Dwight Howard to join him in Brooklyn. 

No easy task, considering just how barren New Jersey's roster is at present. MarShon Brooks has emerged as a reliable scorer in his rookie season, and Anthony Morrow can shoot from the perimeter, but those two aside, Brook Lopez has become something of an injury-prone liability this season, and Kris Humphries is, well, Kris Humphries. 

Nothing that a master salesman like Calipari can't spin into gold, though. Cal's experience courting talented high school kids could come in handy with Howard, who was never seriously recruited out of high school (because he was destined for the NBA draft) and will likely approach the summer of 2012 much as LeBron James did his brief period of free agency: with an eager eye toward pampering and brown-nosing from those who so desire his considerable services. 

But, pitchmen don't win basketball games; coaches do.

And if the Nets are ever to get back on the winning track, they'll need someone on the bench who knows X's and O's and who's intimately familiar with how to handle NBA personalities.

Not some retread who spends his days funneling prep stars to the pros.

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