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Calipari denies reports of talks with Sacramento Kings

By Alex Butler
Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts to a call by the officials during the second half against the Cincinnati Bearcats in their third round game of the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, March 21, 2015. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts to a call by the officials during the second half against the Cincinnati Bearcats in their third round game of the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, March 21, 2015. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo

SACRAMENTO, June 30 (UPI) -- There seems to be a revolving door of interest between NBA front offices and upward trending college basketball coaches.

The coach, this time, is Kentucky's John Calipari and the team is the Sacramento Kings.

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Adrian Wojnarowski, of Yahoo Sports, reported Tuesday morning that the Kings were "probing" Calipari about "his interest in taking over the franchise's front-office and coaching jobs."

Calipari has been communicating with Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and members of ownership, according to Wojnarowski.

But the coach denies the report.

"For the 100th time, I have the best basketball coaching position in the world," Calipari said in a statement. "I am not looking for any other coaching position. Since he bought the team, Vivek Ranadive and I have talked on and off about DeMarcus Cousins. Vivek has asked me what I thought about DeMarcus and I told him he would be an all-star, and I was right. In the last two weeks, we've also talked a bunch about the draft and on draft day, obviously because of Willie Cauley-Stein. At no time has Vivek offered me a job. I will be at Kentucky."

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All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins played for Calipari during the 2009-2010 season at Kentucky.

Calipari signed a seven-year, $54 million contract extentsion last year with Kentucky.

Calipari has amassed 190 wins, a national championship and four Final Fours since 2009 at Kentucky.

He has turned down jobs with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Pelicans in recent years.

In three seasons coaching the New Jersey Nets, from 1996-1998, Calipari had a 72-112 record.

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