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Cleveland Cavaliers offered John Calipari nearly $80 million over 10 years as coach, team president - ESPN
NBA coaching sources have told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Cleveland Cavaliers' recent pitch to Kentucky coach John Calipari was a 10-year offer worth nearly $80 million and included the role of coach and team president.
Kentucky on Thursday announced that Calipari has been signed to a new seven-year deal worth $52.5 million guaranteed.
Sources told ESPN's Andy Katz that Kentucky's new deal with Calipari was completed in April and that the Cavs' proposal was made within the past two weeks.
During an interview on Kentucky Sports Radio, Calipari confirmed he was approached by NBA teams "in a hard way." Calipari did not offer any details of his discussions to return to the pros. He coached the Nets from 1996-99, making the playoffs once.
Sources told Stein that part of Cleveland's motivation to chase Calipari for its job was the belief that hiring Calipari -- who is well known to be a good friend of LeBron James -- would greatly enhance its chances of convincing the NBA's best player to return to his home state in free agency this summer.
But Calipari, like UConn's Kevin Ollie before him, ultimately resisted Cleveland's overtures.
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