Derek Fisher has never been an easy sell in Utah, and a new interview isn’t likely to change that.
In an exclusive conversation with Josh Chambers, Fisher revisited the circumstances around his departure from the Jazz in 2007 and his quick return to the Los Angeles Lakers. He said he willingly gave up the three years and $21,000,000 million left on his Utah contract so his daughter could get the medical care she needed.
“We’re going to have to live in a city… That has the hospitals… And the medical care… That my daughter…"
Fisher’s version is that Los Angeles was the best path forward after Utah released him. But the old skepticism in Utah is still very much alive.
What is known is straightforward: Fisher’s daughter received treatment for her tragic eye cancer in New York, Fisher asked to be let out of his contract so he could focus on her treatment, and not long after being released, he rejoined the Lakers.
That sequence has always fueled suspicion in Utah. Many fans believed at the time that Fisher wanted to leave so he could be closer to New York for his daughter’s care, and his return to the Lakers - a team farther west - looked to them like a contradiction. No one outside Fisher can say for certain what his intentions were, but the doubts never really went away.
The backlash is sharpened by memory. Before he was released, Jazz fans had cheered Fisher during the team’s previous playoff run even while his daughter was recovering from treatment. That made the exit feel especially painful when it happened.
The reaction from Utah has been blunt: many fans believe Fisher lied to get out of his deal and get back to LA, while Fisher maintains he thought Los Angeles was the best place for his daughter’s treatment. Even people who covered the Jazz aren’t buying his version of events.
Continuing to use his daughter’s touching story as the reason why he got out of a contract so he coud join the Los Angeles Lakers again is such disingenuous BS. What a fraud.
Derek Fisher took advantage of the Millers’ kindness. He’s lied about this so many times he probably…
Whatever version of the story people choose to believe, Fisher isn’t winning over Jazz fans now.
If anything, the resentment got worse once he started beating Utah in the postseason.
After returning to the Lakers, Fisher helped eliminate the Jazz in three straight playoffs from 2008 through 2010. He wasn’t just along for the ride in the eyes of Utah fans; he became a symbol of the whole mess.
The 2008 series was Utah’s best shot at knocking off Los Angeles. Fisher wasn’t the main reason the Lakers advanced, but his numbers mattered: 14.2 points per game, 57.1% shooting from the field and 64.7% from three. That was the kind of production that could swing a series.
His impact dipped in the next two postseason matchups, but by then the Deron Williams era was fading. Fisher went on to win two more titles after his exit from Utah, which only deepened the frustration for Jazz fans who already had no interest in giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Fisher can keep telling his side. Utah, by and large, isn’t buying it.
In Other News...
Jazz Finally Have A Real Chance To End This Losing Cycle
Four straight losing seasons have left Utah stuck in a frustrating holding pattern, but the roster now looks more equipped to change the conversation. The Jazz have added Jaren Jackson Jr. in a trade and still have the kind of young talent that gives a rebuild real direction, including two recent top-five draft picks.
The challenge now is turning all that promise into a season that actually climbs above .500. Utah has spent too long collecting losses and waiting for its core to mature, but this is the first time in a while the pieces on hand seem good enough to threaten the kind of step forward fans have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Still Have A Real Path Back Into The West Race
Memphis has taken a sharp turn this summer, moving on from Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant and reshaping its roster around a very different future. Even so, the Grizzlies are not automatically out of the Western Conference conversation. The West is a strange mix right now, with a few elite teams at the top and several clubs still figuring themselves out, which leaves more room than usual for a team that can stabilize quickly and get enough buy-in from its new pieces.
For the Jazz, that matters because the middle of the West is exactly where the race can get crowded in a hurry. Memphis has enough talent and structural flexibility to make a real push toward the play-in picture if its development comes together, and the new league rules only add another layer to how standings could shake out. The bigger question is whether the Grizzlies can translate a roster full of moving parts into actual wins before the conference tightens up around them. [Read more 🡒]
Taylor Hendricks Is Still Easy For Jazz Fans To Cheer For
As the Jazz have moved from a full rebuild to a more immediate push for wins, the usual emotions around former players have gotten a little more complicated. But Taylor Hendricks still fits the easy part of that equation for Utah fans. The former lottery pick is now with the Memphis Grizzlies, and after working back from a significant leg injury, he has started to show why the Jazz once believed in his long-term upside.
Memphis has given Hendricks more room to grow, especially after the trade of Jaren Jackson Jr., and the early returns have been encouraging. He has averaged 10.3 points per game while shooting well enough to remind Jazz fans of the talent that made him such a compelling prospect in the first place. Even if he is no longer in Utah, Hendricks remains one of those players a Jazz crowd can still root for without hesitation. [Read more 🡒]