Twinkie defense wrote:On Fisher being a scumbag...
Of course, it's easy to attack someone for criticizing Fisher on anything remotely related to his daughter's lamentable illness.
But to pretend Fisher coming to LA had nothing to do with anything but his daughter's best interests is BS.
I'm sure his familiarity with the city played a big part in the decision to sign with the Lakers. He has friends and family who still live out here. Not to mention his wife has family out here as well. Having that support when you're going through a difficult time is huge. I don't see what's so wrong about that. That's just on the personal level.
On a basketball level, he already knew the offense here and was still close with the entire coaching staff. That meant that he would be able to immediately help the team and make a smooth transition. Having to learn an entirely new system under a new coaching staff, in a city he was unfamiliar with, just would've added more stress. Instead of spending time studying a new system and adjusting to a new city, he was able to use that extra time on his family.
If he's only concerned about his daughter... maybe a one-year leave of absence would be the thing to do? After all, there are a lot more important things in life than basketball.
We'll never know, but I think he would have taken a leave if he were unable to get out of his contract. The fact that Utah's FO was willing to release him from his contract just opened up other opportunities.
And Fisher never wanted to play in Utah. I'm not saying he used his daughter's illness as an excuse to get out of there, but if one positive outcome in the whole ordeal is he can do better by his daughter and get out of Utah... well that's making a bad situation a little bit better.
That's probably true. But I ask, what's so wrong with that? His desire to leave Utah just happened to parallel his daughter's need for more specialized treatment. That was just a terrible coincidence. I'm sure if God came down and told him his daughter can remain cancer free for life if he plays out the rest of his career in Utah, he'd do it. His daughter's condition was just a case of reality slapping him in the face. I'm sure in the grand scheme of things, it made him realize how petty his desire to leave Utah was. One day you're angry about where you have to play a game, the next you're trying to save your daughter's eye and/or her life.
And if it's only about his daughter, why the Lakers? I'm sure it had nothing to do with their great history, playoff prospects, and his glory days there, right?
This has already been commented on (i.e. family support, familiar city, familiar coaching staff and system).
How about the Clippers? How about the Nets? How about the Warriors? I'm sure there are a lot of teams that will have him for a low salary, since it's about the daughter and not money. Plus I'm sure there are a number of top-notch hospitals in other NBA cities as well.
There were only a few cities that provided the particular type of treatment that his daughter needed. I watched a special on Fisher's situation (can't remember which channel it was). In most cases they remove the eye for this type of cancer. Fisher did all kinds of research and got in contact with a new type of treatment that wouldn't require removing the eye. They interviewed the first doctor that he met with, and the Doc basically said that Fisher did his homework and asked him about all kinds of different treatments.
So why not the Clippers? I think it came down to a basketball decision, since both teams are in a city where he has a support structure. The Clips already had a starting-caliber PG in Cassell. The Lakers had just released their 2 year bust in Smush Parker and had a starting job wide open. Again, he could just slip right in and not even have to learn a new system or a new coaching staff. Easy transition.
And I think Fish proved that it wasn't about the money by basically leaving $8 mil on the table. That is something no one really talks about. Eight million for a career role player is a lot of money.
So let's feel empathy for the health situation that Fisher's daughter has to endure, and for her parents in having to deal with it. But to suggest Fisher playing for the Lakers is only about his daughter and nothing else is a little disingenuous.
That's your opinion. Sure other cities could have provided the specific type of treatment he needed, but would the move have been as smooth a transition? Would he have had the emotional support in those cities? On both a personal and a basketball level, the L.A. Lakers were the team that anyone would have chosen in that situation. The fact that he had family support in this city is what separates it from the other cities that can provide the treatment his daughter needed. So I ask again, what is so wrong with that?
Props to Utah for letting Fisher out of his contract. But Jazz fans have some right to be peeved that he left them to take care of his daughter only to re-sign with their division rival, why they got no compensation.
A. They are not divisional rivals.
B. Most Utah fans said they were happy to dump his contract.
C. He still played his heart out for that team, and was highly respected by his teammates and coaches.
D. Booing him was classless no matter which angle you look at it.
And Warriors fans have some right to be peeved at Fisher for reasons unrelated to his daughter... that the Warriors paid him a lot of money for little impact in terms of wins and losses, and little return on their investment.
Well you should be angry at your team's FO for offering him that contract. No one really believed he was worth that much when he signed, and no one can blame him for taking that offer, which would be the last big contract of his career.
If my memory serves me correct, Fish was making around $6M per year with GS (?). Even if you say he was only worth half that, do you really think the difference of about $3M hurt the Warriors?
That is not even 5% of the salary cap. So again, you should be peeved at the team's FO. Fish just did what anyone would do and accepted the offer. You might not see any skills of his that you liked, but at least he played hard and was a true Pro.
By comparison, the Lakers paid Kwame Brown around $9M per year. Not only did he stink, but he didn't always play hard. He was only worth MAYBE $3M. That's a difference of $6M, which is enough to hurt a team's chances at signing a player. Or look at Larry Hughes in Cleveland. THOSE fans have a "right to be peeved".
As long as a player is playing hard, I can't ever fault him for being overpaid. I put that on the GM for thinking the player was better than he really is. Fish is a bit unpopular among the Laker fan base at the moment, but in my eyes he is still a godsend. I haven't forgotten the last 3 years with Chucky Atkins or Smush Parker as our starting PGs. Effort is really all I ask as a fan, and Fisher brings that every night.
