Yeah, Mitch and Jerry, I know. He’ll be 36 in August.
He’s lost a step. Maybe a step and a half.
He’s not even close to the pressure defender he used to be. And even back in the day there were those moments when he could be exposed. And not just a little. Sometimes he could be exposed badly by really quick young guards. And the league today is nothing but quick young guards.
Derek Fisher guard Rajon Rondo? John Wall? Derrick Rose? You can hear the chops slurping at nearly every stop around the league. These young people want a piece of that old man.
And finishing with the basketball? Fisher’s mix ups at the basket used to keep Lakers assistant and triangle offense guru Tex Winter grumbling, except when it came time to think about replacing him. Then Tex, like most everyone else on the coaching staff, turned strangely silent.
They knew.
No one else can do all the things that Fisher does for the Lakers. And absolutely no one can do them in the heat of the biggest battles, which is what Fisher has done time and again. He has proved himself every single day of his career, ever since he came out of the University of Arkansas/Little Rock as a late first round draft pick back in 1996.
Fisher has delivered so many big moments in so many games that … Oh, why go on? We could spend all day adding them up here.
Let’s just turn it over to Phil Jackson. Here’s what he had to say after Fisher hit the big shots to deliver the Lakers their 2009 championship:
“Well, it’s character,” Big Chief Triangle replied when asked about Fisher. “We’ve always said the character has got to be in players if they’re going to be great players. You can’t just draft it. It’s not just about talent, it’s about character, and he’s a person of high character, brings that to play, not only in just his gamesmanship but also his intestinal fortitude.”
But who cares about that stuff in these smart-ass days of pro hoops?
Yeah, it’s true. Fisher’s market value is no where near $5 mil a year. That’s a joke.
So, yes, for all the stat geeks out there with their calculators and formulas, Fisher is obviously past his prime and not worth the money. They say, “Don’t pay that guy, Dr. Jerry. He’s not worth it.”
Some of these jerks send me messages too. Fish doesn’t fit the XYZ, they say, and if Phil Jackson really knew anything about basketball he’d bench the guy.
Never mind that Fisher just delivered the most amazing performance of his career to secure the 2010 NBA title for Los Angles.
To the stat geek naysayers, Fisher is the joke who’s time has passed.
The Lakers seem to subscribe to that XYZ geek talk because they’re reluctant to bring him back unless he cuts his $5 mil salary in half.
Besides, the Lakers need to save money this year. Things have just gotten too tight financially.
Yes, Mitch and Jerry, you can certainly buy that line of thinking. You can start to believe that Fisher is a luxury for this very talented team.
But that’s sadly narrow thinking. Fisher is an essential. Remember when you brought him back to the Lakers in the 2007 off-season? People said he then he was washed up, a joke.
All he did was play a giant role in three straight trips to the NBA championship series and two titles.
Derek Fisher is a proud, determined man. That pride and determination are the bedrock of his heart. Pay him for that.
Screw these ignorant people who want you to get rid of him. Screw ‘em. They’re just a bunch of booger eaters in my book.
Really it’s very simple, Mitch and Jerry. You must make the smart play. You must reward that pride and determination. Do it, and you will look very smart.
Just Pay Derek Fisher. Please.
Do yourselves, do all of us, that favor. Don’t buy that conventional thinking about market value. The market doesn’t know shit.
Pay Derek Fisher. Please. He’s earned every penny. And he’ll keep earning.
Roland Lazenby is the author of Jerry West, The Life And Legend Of A Basketball Icon, recently released by ESPN Books.
10 Comments
Roland, nice to see you on the case for Fish now that the job of stumping for Jackson is done. Okay, tongue in cheek statement done.
I quite agree with you that keeping Fisher is very important to this team if only to have him around as a counter-weight to Kobe BRyant.
All of this is a reminder to me though of when Jackson first came to the Lakers and how everyone said that Derek Fisher would be marginalised by Jackson because he prefers big non-traditional hybrid guards more than shorter, prototypical point guards. How far we’ve come… And I think a lot of that credit goes to Derek Fisher and his tremendous work ethic.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. But I really can’t understand why Buss doesn’t value Fish as much as he should after helping him get his last 5 titles.
Obviously Fisher is an asset, but essentially the bigger question comes down to experience vs value. The lakers are paying younger players like Luke Walton and Sasha Vucajic the same money, but with lesser results. If the Lakers bungle this it will be a public relations nightmare.
Fisher is worth at least $4 Million a year.
How do we know that?
That is because $4 Million a year is what the Lakers are paying Blake to be Fisher’s backup.
if there is a definition of anti-BB, that is Fish. add some chips and put him to dry.
Lakers fans like any other fans r sentimental, nostalgic, melancolic and also romantic (his daughter cancer fit the notin).
he does not fit future plans. the team labored thrugh the season. because of the old man. the only notion related to his intangibles is PUJIT (pull up jumper in transition). a misses one. and another one.
what other PG in the league can’t make an entry pass, can’t lead a fast break, can’t make a layup??????????????????
Fisher shoul pay the team to be on the bench. for another speech. leader? together with Gassy the throw Kobe under the bus after the memphis game. because he wanted more TOUCHES. for selFISH reasons. it was his contract year.
enough of this slow nightmare. how long will drag out the letargy? put him out of his misery. NOW
from Smushcalade to Fishcalade.
the dark age of the Lakers PG era.
Fisher was one of the key reasons behind this 3 year run of success. And I don’t think I have ever seen a better performance by Fish than what he did against Boston (a very superior defensive team). He simply willed the Lakers to a win in Game 3 which was the crucial game of the series IMO. Clutch basket after clutch basket. I don’t know how much he is worth but he’s worth more to the Lakers than to any other team. Pay him.
Jerry & Mitch,
Consider what Fisher did for you in game 3 at Boston. If we didn’t win that game, do the Lakers get to reutrn to LA. One other thing, did Lamar or Luke play like that in Boston. This would be money well spent.
Derik Fisher means more to us as a lakers fan than to any other teams and haters. I say he is worth every penny. I say we dump luke walton and send him packing. He is worthless to this team. Only think Luke is good for is a I.Q he should quit and become a assistant coach. As for fisher man has proven his worth. Nothing more to say pay the man what he deserves. Hey kobe maybe you can lend the hand to the lakers for your buddy fisher.
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