New York Knicks: John Calipari Is a Horrible Fit for Knicks as Head Coach

I'm not sure where all these rumors are coming from, but John Calipari to the New York Knicks couldn't be a worse fit for this team.

According to the New York Daily News, the Kentucky Wildcats coach has said he isn't interested in the job, but the Knicks are still very much interested in him.

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

However, several sources tell the Daily News that the club, through its association with Creative Artists Agency, is already targeting the Kentucky coach. CAA represents current Knick Carmelo Anthony, as well as Calipari. 

“Do I think they’ve spoken directly to Cal? No,” said one source. “Do I think he knows they’re very interested? Definitely.”

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This wouldn't be coach Calipari's first trip to the NBA. He became the coach of the New Jersey Nets before the start of the 1996-97 season. 

In his first year, the Nets were a dreadful 26-56. In his second year, he led the Nets to a 43 wins and a playoff berth on the last day of the 1997-98 season. But his team was unceremoniously bounced by the top-seeded Chicago Bulls.

The beginning of the 1998-99 season was marred by the NBA lockout, which forced the league to shortened the season to 50 games. That still didn't help Calipari and the Nets, as the team started a horrendous 3-15. After that bad regression, Calipari was fired just 18 games into the season.

Not exactly an impressive NBA résumé for the current Kentucky coach.

The NBA will be a much tougher situation for Calipari. He's been well known for being able to recruit the very best high school players in the country, or as well like to call them, "the one-and-dones."

It isn't as easy in the NBA, and with the Knicks' salary cap situation, there isn't much room  for coach Cal to build this team, and he will certainly have to win with what he already has. Besides, this is a Knicks team that lacks discipline and a player's coach like Calipari might not be the best fit for their current roster. Mike Woodson's style of holding players accountable is better suited for this New York team.

Not to mention, defense wins championships and while I'm not sure that defense is Calipari's forte, Woodson is as defensive-minded a coach as you can get and will certainly make that his first priority.

The one thing Calipari does have going for him is the fact that he has a history with Carmelo Anthony and he actually recruited Amar'e Stoudemire to the University of Memphis before the Knicks forward chose to go straight to the NBA from high school.

The same article that says the Knicks are interested in Calipari also pointed out a report from Yahoo! Sports that highlighted a different, less direct connection Calipari could make for the Knicks. 

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Yahoo! Sports even painted a scenario on Tuesday where LeBron James" LeBron James, who has a relationship with Calipari, could opt out of his contract following the 2013-14 season and make his way to New York.

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Other than the more realistic connections he has with this team, there is simply no logical explanation that one can make in favor of Calipari and against Woodson other than a public relations move.