NBA Rumors: John Calipari Smart to Avoid New York Drama by Staying at Kentucky

John Calipari boosted his coaching stock significantly by winning the national championship on Monday night, but he was wise to quickly dispel any connection between himself and the NBA. He's already in a perfect spot, so there's no reason to leave.

Andy Katz of ESPN reports the Kentucky Wildcats head coach doesn't plan on exiting his current position anytime soon, even if the New York Knicks came calling.

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Kentucky coach John Calipari said Wednesday he isn't going to coach the New York Knicks or any other NBA franchise for the foreseeable future.

"Kentucky is the best job in basketball coaching," Calipari said. "Why would I leave? We just won the national title. We're chasing UCLA."

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Calipari had a previous NBA stint with the New Jersey Nets that resulted in just one playoff appearance. While the game itself remains the same, coaching professional players is completely different than kids straight out of high school.

College players, especially those who attend Kentucky with hopes of eventually making it to the NBA, have more reasons to be motivated than a pro with a massive contract. When a team struggles like Calipari's Nets, it's easy for players to mail it in.

The Knicks were one franchise rumored as a landing spot for Calipari. For the amount of attention he receives at Kentucky, it's exponentially greater in a city like New York, where the media doesn't take a second off from trying to break stories.

Taking himself out of a comfortable position like Kentucky and heading into the New York chaos wouldn't be any easy transition to complete.

Then there's the issue of roster turnover. Whether fans like it or not, Calipari has become the master of building teams around players who are likely one-and-done prospects. It's not a popular approach, but it works for him.

Making major changes to a roster at the next level isn't nearly as easy. The salary cap makes marquee moves difficult to make, so Calipari would be forced to adjust his style to working with the same players for an extended period of time.

The Knicks don't have much wiggle room thanks to the contracts of stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, among others. Calipari is a solid coach, but his ability to have consistent success in New York would be far from guaranteed.

If things didn't work out, his choice to leave an elite job like Kentucky would come back to haunt him. Sometimes it's smart to realize the grass isn't always going to be greener on the other side and just stay where you are.

All told, a move to New York, or any other NBA city for that matter, wouldn't be worth the risk to Calipari. It won't be any better than his current job, which provided him with a national title.