It was all the buzz Monday, a report out of Chicago that John Calipari, he of the 72-112 NBA coaching record, and LeBron James, most recently seen exiting stage left in Boston, were offering themselves as a package deal to teams with 1) a lot of cap space and 2) a coaching vacancy.
Wait, there's more!! If you win the lottery, they'll throw in a warm and cuddly relationship with John Wall! The deal reportedly was being brokered by one William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley, a Jersey guy whose name is usually preceded by the adjective, "shadowy".
Dave D'Alessandro spoke to Rod Thorn, prospective buyer, and what he got, mostly, were chuckles. "No one has ever offered me that deal," Thorn responded, laughing.
"And it’s impossible to speculate," he added, reportedly still in full guffaw. "I don’t expect it to happen. And if it did happen, I’ll just say I would deal with it at the time." But Newsday's Alan Hahn reports "a source close to Calipari says there will be an effort made to get in touch with [Mikhail] Prokhorov directly in the short period of time he will be here for the lottery."
Meanwhile, Dave D explains why the interest in Evan Turner. Doesn't he duplicate Terrence Williams skills? Well, yes, but D'Alessandro reports at least half of the Nets basketball types are "still lukewarm on T-Will". His biggest issue: an unwillingness to accept coaching.
- The Package Deal - Dave D'Alessandro - Nets Blast
- James situation adds drama to draft lottery - Alan Hahn - New York Newsday (via McClatchy News Service)
- LeBron James, John Calipari, William Wesley more interesting than NBA playoffs, right now - Tim Keown - ESPN
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Hint of truth in LeBron-Calipari rumors? - FOX News