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Maxey, who played one season for Calipari in 2019-20, was among a small group of people who got some inkling late Thursday night that James would ultimately choose the Sixers, according to sources. James has known Maxey for years and is represented by the same agency. But even he didn't fully believe it was real until he saw ESPN's Shams Charania report the news and James put his statement out on X on Friday.
“Karl was taking some heat and I was so mad. He didn’t deserve that. But the only thing I did tell him – ‘They’re not calling fouls so quit flopping,’” Calipari told The Post in Las Vegas during Summer League. “If you’re going to shoot it, they’re going to foul you. And they’re not calling it. I’m watching the Spurs and OKC beat the s–t out of each other (in the Western Conference finals). No calls. And I said, ‘Look man, go for and-ones, and if they don’t foul you, at least you’ll make the basket. Flopping ain’t helping.’”
Asked generally about the trend of NBA players taking discounts – most notably Brunson and Victor Wembanyama – Calipari stumped for the sacrifice. “People are getting pissed. But there is a second apron for a reason – to discourage that from happening,” Calipari said. “But it makes me feel good – what’s the difference between $400 million and $502 million? I don’t begrudge somebody saying, no, I earned it. I don’t begrudge. But I’m saying it’s kinda neat. Because I’m about team. And that means – I care about myself and my family, but I also care about this team. What’s the common ground? What’s the middle ground? I got to give up a little bit?”
Stefan Bondy: I spoke with John Calipari a couple days ago and he brought up an old well-known tale about the Gary Trent Jr. situation happening before, without punishment from the NBA: In 1994, the Suns had just $1 million under the cap and used it to sign Danny Manning. It was a shake-hand agreement from Suns owner Jerry Colangelo that Manning would get a larger contract after one year. The problem? Manning blew out his knee midway through that first season. But Colangelo kept his word and signed Manning in 1995 to a seven-year, $40 million extension (which was massive back then). Colangelo even gave Manning part ownership of the Diamondbacks (talk about circumventing the cap). Anyway, Calipari told me this should be a viable way for players and teams to operate in the apron era. He also applauds the stars who are taking discounts to build contenders around them. "I don’t begrudge somebody saying, 'No, I earned it.' I don’t begrudge. But I’m saying it’s kinda neat. Because I’m about team. And that means – I care about myself and my family, but I also care about this team. What’s the common ground? What’s the middle ground? I got to give up a little bit?"
Dan Patrick Show: "Stop on De'Aaron Fox, he's playing with a high ankle sprain – probably shouldn't be playing. He would normally dunk that layup – if he would've dunked it, he's the hero..." – John Calipari on people blaming De'Aaron Fox for the #Spurs loss
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Speaking with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on The Pull Up with Scoop B, Gill recalled being in the room with agent Arn Tellem while the Nets debated using the No. 7 pick on Bryant. Tellem also represented Bryant and strongly opposed New Jersey drafting the teenage guard directly out of high school. “I was right there when they were thinking about drafting Kobe,” Gill said. “Arn is on the phone with John Calipari and he’s saying, ‘Look. We’re going to take Kobe at the 7th pick…’” Gill explained that Tellem warned the Nets that Bryant would go overseas rather than play for the franchise. According to Gill, the Lakers already had a deal lined up with the Charlotte Hornets involving Vlade Divac and Bryant’s draft rights.
Coach Calipari, his resume speaks for itself. When you found out he was recruiting you, what went through your mind? Jordan Smith: It was kind of crazy, kind of just a dream come true. Because Coach Cal, I mean, it's Coach Cal, like, you can't get better than that, really. The first thing he said to me when he first came to recruit me was, if you're good enough, you're big enough. And, you know, I'm not the biggest guy on the court. I'm 6-2, 6-3, and, you know, this guy is 6-5, 6-6, out there, and even 7-foot. So, just hearing that, as a 6-3 guy, instilled a lot of confidence in me and just showed that he had a lot of confidence and trust in me.
Calipari, who won a national championship during his time coaching at Kentucky, went almost seven minutes during his post-game press conference talking about today’s game after a reporter asked his thoughts on the Nnaji move. "I’ve got friends that are playing with 27-year-olds, and they feel bad, and I said, ‘Don’t feel bad. We don’t have any rules. Why should you feel bad?'" Calipari said, per Awful Announcing. "But let me give you this. Real simple: the rules bees the rules. So, if you put your name in the draft, I don’t care if you’re from Russia and you stay in the draft, you can’t play college basketball. ‘Well, that’s only for American kids.’ What? If your name is in that draft, and you got drafted, you can’t play college because that’s our rule. ‘Yeah, but that’s only for American kids.’ OK. OK."
In 1997, the New Jersey Nets were rebranding under John Calipari and looking for ways to reach younger fans. Scoop — then a kid radio personality with big dreams — got the call. Every week, he’d head to the Meadowlands to interview players, later returning here to host the Saturday morning show. “I wasn’t supposed to be here,” Scoop says, smiling. “But I showed up anyway. And that’s half the battle in this business — showing up before you’re invited.”
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Daniel Donabedian: Jaylen Brown said that when he committed to Cal., his mom made him call every other school that pursued him. Some took the news better than others, as John Calipari even hung up the phone on him (while Roy Williams showed love): “It wasn’t no ‘good luck.’ It was nothing.”
Jaylen Brown said that when he committed to Cal., his mom made him call every other school that pursued him.
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) October 6, 2025
Some took the news better than others, as John Calipari even hung up the phone on him (while Roy Williams showed love):
“It wasn’t no ‘good luck.’ It was nothing.” pic.twitter.com/IT2hixWZss
We’ve confirmed that Alex Sohn and Gavin Johannsen‘s spec screenplay With the 8th Pick, about the behind-the-scenes 1996 NBA drafting of Kobe Bryant, has landed at Warner Bros. There is no director attached as of yet. The project is told from the point of view of John Nash, the general manager of the New Jersey Nets, and incoming Nets coach John Calipari, who really wanted Bryant. However, the New Jersey was a broke organization, and Bryant was an L.A. Lakers fan. Not to mention, Bryant’s sneaker deal with Adidas would be worth more with the Lakers than had he signed with the Nets.
Dave McMenamin: Pretty cool: Lakers second round pick Adou Thiero played for John Calipari at Kentucky and Arkansas from 2022-2025. His father, Alamy Thiero, played for John Calipari at Memphis from 2002-2006.
“I didn’t start in the first four to five games (at Kentucky). And I called him in and said, ‘Look, Shai, I know you should be starting or could be starting, but I kind of like this rotation,'” John Calipari said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Coach, I trust you. I’m fine. I’ll see you at practice.’ Well, game nine and 10, I started him. And from there, he was a lottery pick. “He made himself a lottery pick to the point that Cleveland wanted to draft him, and he said, ‘No, I’m not going to Cleveland.’ I was at the table. I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’ And he ends up going to the Clips. I watched him in a playoff game. That’s when I knew he was going to be in this league a long time.”
