Report: John Calipari rejected 7-year, $60 million-plus contract to coach Cavaliers

Kentucky's John Calipari has a 597-177 record in 22 seasons as a college head coach. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Kentucky head coach John Calipari and the Cleveland Cavaliers were in "deep" discussions on a seven-year, $60 million-plus contract that would have made Calipari team president and coach, reports Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski and Brett Dawson.

Instead, Calipari spurned the deal and signed a seven-year, $52 million extension at Kentucky last week.

According to the report, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert pursued Calipari with an offer to have him coach and head the team's basketball operations. The Cavs fired Mike Brown last month after his second stint with team.

The Cavaliers went 33-49 this past season. Cleveland will also select first in the NBA Draft on June 26 for the second straight year and the third time in four years.

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Calipari just completed his fifth season in Lexington, where he has complied a 152-37 record, leading the team to a national championship victory in 2012 and a national title game appearance this past season.

Calipari previously coached in the NBA for three seasons with the New Jersey Nets from 1996-1999, recording one postseason appearance.

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If Calipari had gone to Cleveland, the plan would've been for new general manager David Griffin to work with Calipari in the front office, but he would've ceded final decisions on personnel matters to Calipari, sources said.

Beyond the considerable length of the proposed contract – with an annual salary that would've moved Calipari among the highest paid executives/coaches in the NBA – Calipari had some intrigue with the infrastructure of All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and the possibility of the No. 1 overall pick in the June draft.

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