I am a proud man . . . but even proud men sometimes have to admit when they are wrong.
When Derek Fisher left the team I said that it was a good thing. I said that we would be saving money we desperately would need for the coming years. I said that it meant more time for DWill. I thought it meant more time for Brewer and CJ. I said it was good that he wouldnt be taking so many jumpers. Overall, I said that it was good that he moved on.
Ladies and Gentlemen . . . it is clear that I was wrong (except for the money bit).
It is now clear that Derek Fisher was the leader of the team. I think that it was somewhat apparent when he was here, but now it is clear that he was the unquestioned leader of the team. He was the player that on the court, when times got tight, the other guys looked to. Rightly so. He hit a lot of big shots in tight games (he just didnt hit them in other times). He was the guy that forced the other young guys on the court to focus on the road. We were 20-21 on the road the year he was here. It is clear that no one (not even Deron) has been able to take on his mantle to play that role. Everyone is still looking to the ghost of Derek Fisher.
His exit has cost us something more valuable than I realized at the time.
The Ghost of Derek Fisher
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The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- Racer X
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
I'm not sure things are quite that dire without him, but I was terribly sad to see him go. You're absolutely right that he was the leader of that team.

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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- babyjax13
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
I was so excited to see him come to our team, but it was a little dissapointing with the way he played. I tthought Knight would be able to replace some of the things we lost with Fisher, but it looks like I was wrong.
I do have this to say though, to me it looks like Deron is stepping up to the plate and taking that leadership role that Fisher left behind. As soon as he returned to the team it looked like we had gained a purpose.
I do have this to say though, to me it looks like Deron is stepping up to the plate and taking that leadership role that Fisher left behind. As soon as he returned to the team it looked like we had gained a purpose.

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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- revprodeji
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
As an outsider, I thought it was a real classy thing for Utah to let him leave for better care for his daughter. But LAL should have offered something back when they signed him. I know they were not bound to, but it would have been really classy for them considering you lost a big part of your team.
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- J_Ray
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
Utah needs someone that will punch people in the mouth like a Jerry Sloan Persona with the grit. Harpring can do that still a bit but his knees make him a liability these days. I rather see Harpring out there than Miles at this point though, that's how sickening this season has been as of late.
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
Actually I agree. If Fisher was not with the Lakers, Kobe would have insisted with the trade midseason.

Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- seejaydeja
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
J_Ray wrote:Utah needs someone that will punch people in the mouth like a Jerry Sloan Persona with the grit. Harpring can do that still a bit but his knees make him a liability these days. I rather see Harpring out there than Miles at this point though, that's how sickening this season has been as of late.
Exactly right. That's exactly what this team is missing. I remember the days when someone would mess with Stock, and Malone would lay them out on the ensuing possession. We don't have that sense of brotherhood with this group of guys.

Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- Racer X
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
The main thing is that this team is worse than the team we had 2 years ago. Everyone on that team that played is still here except for we traded Derek Fisher for Kyle Korver essentially.
With how young all of our guys were that season, there is no reason why this team should be worse with 2 more years of league experience.
With how young all of our guys were that season, there is no reason why this team should be worse with 2 more years of league experience.

Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- J_Ray
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
Racer X wrote:The main thing is that this team is worse than the team we had 2 years ago. Everyone on that team that played is still here except for we traded Derek Fisher for Kyle Korver essentially.
With how young all of our guys were that season, there is no reason why this team should be worse with 2 more years of league experience.
The problem is that we don't have the locker room leader, not everyone are meant to be leaders and it's shown with this group. That year we also had some of the best cheerleaders in the league on our bench with Dee Brown & Hoffa, but I don't exactly see Fes or Ronnie Price cheering people on all the time.
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- Racer X
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
J_Ray wrote:The problem is that we don't have the locker room leader, not everyone are meant to be leaders and it's shown with this group. That year we also had some of the best cheerleaders in the league on our bench with Dee Brown & Hoffa, but I don't exactly see Fes or Ronnie Price cheering people on all the time.
Hence the reason I made the thread.

Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- moevillini
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
J_Ray wrote:Racer X wrote:The main thing is that this team is worse than the team we had 2 years ago. Everyone on that team that played is still here except for we traded Derek Fisher for Kyle Korver essentially.
With how young all of our guys were that season, there is no reason why this team should be worse with 2 more years of league experience.
The problem is that we don't have the locker room leader, not everyone are meant to be leaders and it's shown with this group. That year we also had some of the best cheerleaders in the league on our bench with Dee Brown & Hoffa, but I don't exactly see Fes or Ronnie Price cheering people on all the time.
thanks for mentioning Dee Brown as well, I think he has the type of personality that just sort of helped to keep things loose and friendly and was generally good from a "team chemistry" aspect
and Fisher had not just leadership, but veteran leadership - - I think Deron has great on-court, in-game leadership, but I'm not so sure he's the type to be a serious off-court leader, I'm just not sure he's developed those "motivational" type of qualities
Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
- leventuysal
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Re: The Ghost of Derek Fisher
Derek Fisher undoubtedly was a force on and off the court. How sad that he was frequently forced to play the #2 in Jerry Sloan's system.
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