MIAMI — Kentucky coach John Calipari always makes a point to spend time with former players, especially via largely random meetings when they happen to be in the same city.



In April, he was in Minneapolis for the Final Four, which happened to be the same weekend the Miami Heat were in town to play, the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was the perfect chance to catch up with ex-Wildcats Bam Adebayo and Karl-Anthony Towns.



The day before the game, Calipari and Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne invited them to dinner. They reminisced about the past. They talked about their NBA futures. Everything was pleasant and harmonious until Towns made a crack about how he was going to dominate Adebayo when they faced each other the following day.



“I can’t remember what Karl-Anthony said, but he said something,” Calipari said. “I looked over at Kenny and we kind of glanced at Bam and you could just see it in his jaw and his eyes. He was like,...