Report: Calipari reached out to Knicks to express interest in president role

Big names continue to be tied to the New York Knicks' vacant president of basketball operations position, and while the team's reported targets to this point have not publicly returned their interest, at least one candidate has reportedly tried to initiate discussions.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari reached out to the Knicks "through intermediaries" to express interest in becoming their new president, sources told ESPN's Ian Begley.

For the time being, the Knicks are not interested in Calipari, who may also want to take over as New York's coach, according to Begley's sources.

The bulk of Calipari's NBA experience came with the New Jersey Nets, for whom he served as coach and president for parts of three seasons starting in 1996. He compiled a 72-112 record, making the playoffs once, before being fired 20 games into the 1998-99 season. He also served as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers the following season.

After that brief NBA foray, he became head coach at Memphis in 2000, and then at Kentucky in 2009, where he continues to lead the Wildcats' program.

General manager Steve Mills has been handling the Knicks' day-to-day basketball operations since previous president Phil Jackson was removed from his post early Wednesday morning.