After the Nets fired head coach & Exec VP/Basketball
Operations John Calipari, Chris Broussard of the N.Y. TIMES
reports that Calipari, who joined the Nets in '96, has more
than two years and $6M left on his contract, and that the
team will pay him the rest of the money and even offered him
another job within the franchise. Nets co-Owner Lewis Katz:
"I offered him a position as an adviser to myself with
specific reference to basketball-related issues. I hope he
will ... remain with the organization in some capacity"
(N.Y. TIMES, 3/16). In NJ, Don Burke writes on Calipari's
dismissal, and notes that "there was no love lost" between
Calipari and the Nets' front office. Burke adds that Katz
has been "widely criticized for the way he handled the
firing," noting that Calipari was "separated" from the team
on Sunday after its loss to the Heat and "sequestered in a
room" with Nets co-Owner Finn Wentworth (Newark STAR-LEDGER,
3/16). But sources of Mark Kreigel note that since the
YankeeNets merger, Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner "has
been pushing, prodding and even orchestrating basketball
decisions" for the Nets. Steinbrenner "had a big hand" in
the Stephon Marbury trade, "and began pushing for the
firing" of Calipari "almost as soon as he signed the letter
of intent" for the merger (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/16). Also in
N.Y., Peter Vecsey writes that Calipari and Nets COO Michael
Rowe "had no use for each other. ... Their disrespect was
mutual. What's worse, it was overt" (N.Y. POST, 3/16).
