 I know I wouldn't be smiling if I was banished to Utah. |
Two weeks after being traded, ex-Warrior Derek Fisher (see Report Card) finally reported to the Utah Jazz. From the Warriors' perspective the trade looked like a contract dump to nullify another Chris and Rod mistake, but this excerpt from desertnews.com sheds some new light on additional motivation for the trade: |
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But Fisher, make no mistake, wanted out of Golden State. He and his agent even spoke about the possibility of a contract buyout with the Warriors, which instead wound up shipping the veteran combo guard to Utah for three younger guards with contracts that will expire after the coming season -- Devin Brown, Keith McLeod and Andre Owens. "I had expressed some unhappiness at times before with wanting to be a starter and wanting to have a bigger role, because I felt like I was capable of doing more to help the team," the Little Rock, Ark., native said. "But they had basically frozen me out on any type of trade talk. They weren't going to trade me. They felt like I was 'too important.'" ... "I think they respected my wishes in maybe wanting to have a bigger role on the team," said Fisher, who signed with Golden State as a free agent in 2004 following an eight-season, three-championship career with the Los Angeles Lakers. This is a little shocking for two reasons: 2) Contract buyout? Fish and his agent should have been ecstatic with that big money 6 year $37 million the Warriors gave him back in 2004. Few teams would be dumb enough to give a mediocre point guard, who hates to pass, that kind of money up until his 36th birthday. Did you know Derek Fisher wanted out of the Warriors so badly that he was considering a contract buyout? |
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A Small Fish in a Small Pond
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