Wednesday report
Nice to see Derek Fisher waited about 18 hours after he was out of Salt Lake City before his agent set the price for his services at a deal for the full midlevel exception. For the uninitiated, that's a five-year contract for about $32 million.
Don't believe it? Here's what Brad Turner, the Lakers' beat writer for the Riverside Press-Enterprise, wrote in his story for Wednesday's paper about the possibility of Fisher returning to the Lakers:
"Perhaps the only thing that can stop this reunion would be money -- whether the Lakers are willing to offer the full $5.5 million mid-level exception Fisher's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said his client is seeking."
"His value is clearly above the mid level," Bartelstein told the P-E. "He's going to take less than his value. The Lakers have got to do what's best for them. If you get him for the mid level, they are getting value. He's certainly worth that."
It doesn't take a math major to figure out that the $20.6 million Fisher had coming to him in Utah is less than the $31.9 million he would stand to make in a full midlevel deal.
Fisher would be taking a pay cut of about $3 million those first three years of a new deal. But he would be making way, way more the last two years than he would hitting the market as a soon-to-be 36-year-old guard in three years.
You can say there's no way a team will pay Fisher that much money. I would agree except for the fact that Bartelstein has an unbelievable track record of getting his players paid. That's why he's one of the NBA's best agents.
And even if Fisher doesn't get that kind of contract, it seems questionable at best to already be talking about it one day after leaving the Jazz in what seemed like such emotional and sincere fashion.
You also have to remember that Fisher had enough money already in the bank to donate $700,000 to Arkansas-Little Rock, his alma mater. That was two years ago. There's still a good chance Fisher will make $50 million in his career.
I know no one is reading the blog on July 4, but I hope they'll find this post Thursday, Friday, whenever. There was a big disconnect between the public's perception of a feel-good story and what it felt like Monday night sitting in that news conference.
Yes, Fisher's first priority is the care of his baby daughter and her twin brother. Yes, there are cities that perhaps offer more specialized care than he could find in Salt Lake. But he also had to see the writing on the wall with the Jazz.
Fisher was destined to come off the bench and back up Deron Williams and a new starting shooting guard. The Jazz already were grooming Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles and reached out to Morris Peterson to start free agency.
All he had to do was look to Los Angeles, where the Lakers entered the free-agent market in need of a starting guard. That Steve Blake was asking for a full midlevel deal to come to the Lakers also had to enter in the equation.
If Fisher wanted to be released, he had to move quickly, before teams committed their money elsewhere. So he made his decision on the first night of the negotiating period and flew to Utah for a news conference called on an hour's notice.
The Jazz were willing to let Fisher go because they understand the implications of saving $21 million on a backup player. They refused to question Fisher's motives because they believed he was going to lose between $5 million and $10 million.
We'll see if they're right in the coming weeks. The Jazz did Fisher a huge favor, because they gain little in return. They have the same two cap exceptions to spend on free agents as they did before Fisher's release.
Meanwhile, Fisher gained by hitting the free-agent market on July 2, not Aug. 1, by which point he probably would have had to settle for a two-year, $4 million deal.
The story never was about Fisher walking away from the game. He left Utah with every intention of playing next season. It also was no secret he had mixed feelings about the city ever since last July's trade.
Fisher is one of the NBA's best citizens and president of the players association. I'm just curious how Jazz fans will react if he signs quickly - - and if it's for anything in the neighborhood of $20 million to $30 million.
--Ross Siler
Don't believe it? Here's what Brad Turner, the Lakers' beat writer for the Riverside Press-Enterprise, wrote in his story for Wednesday's paper about the possibility of Fisher returning to the Lakers:
"Perhaps the only thing that can stop this reunion would be money -- whether the Lakers are willing to offer the full $5.5 million mid-level exception Fisher's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said his client is seeking."
"His value is clearly above the mid level," Bartelstein told the P-E. "He's going to take less than his value. The Lakers have got to do what's best for them. If you get him for the mid level, they are getting value. He's certainly worth that."
It doesn't take a math major to figure out that the $20.6 million Fisher had coming to him in Utah is less than the $31.9 million he would stand to make in a full midlevel deal.
Fisher would be taking a pay cut of about $3 million those first three years of a new deal. But he would be making way, way more the last two years than he would hitting the market as a soon-to-be 36-year-old guard in three years.
You can say there's no way a team will pay Fisher that much money. I would agree except for the fact that Bartelstein has an unbelievable track record of getting his players paid. That's why he's one of the NBA's best agents.
And even if Fisher doesn't get that kind of contract, it seems questionable at best to already be talking about it one day after leaving the Jazz in what seemed like such emotional and sincere fashion.
You also have to remember that Fisher had enough money already in the bank to donate $700,000 to Arkansas-Little Rock, his alma mater. That was two years ago. There's still a good chance Fisher will make $50 million in his career.
I know no one is reading the blog on July 4, but I hope they'll find this post Thursday, Friday, whenever. There was a big disconnect between the public's perception of a feel-good story and what it felt like Monday night sitting in that news conference.
Yes, Fisher's first priority is the care of his baby daughter and her twin brother. Yes, there are cities that perhaps offer more specialized care than he could find in Salt Lake. But he also had to see the writing on the wall with the Jazz.
Fisher was destined to come off the bench and back up Deron Williams and a new starting shooting guard. The Jazz already were grooming Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles and reached out to Morris Peterson to start free agency.
All he had to do was look to Los Angeles, where the Lakers entered the free-agent market in need of a starting guard. That Steve Blake was asking for a full midlevel deal to come to the Lakers also had to enter in the equation.
If Fisher wanted to be released, he had to move quickly, before teams committed their money elsewhere. So he made his decision on the first night of the negotiating period and flew to Utah for a news conference called on an hour's notice.
The Jazz were willing to let Fisher go because they understand the implications of saving $21 million on a backup player. They refused to question Fisher's motives because they believed he was going to lose between $5 million and $10 million.
We'll see if they're right in the coming weeks. The Jazz did Fisher a huge favor, because they gain little in return. They have the same two cap exceptions to spend on free agents as they did before Fisher's release.
Meanwhile, Fisher gained by hitting the free-agent market on July 2, not Aug. 1, by which point he probably would have had to settle for a two-year, $4 million deal.
The story never was about Fisher walking away from the game. He left Utah with every intention of playing next season. It also was no secret he had mixed feelings about the city ever since last July's trade.
Fisher is one of the NBA's best citizens and president of the players association. I'm just curious how Jazz fans will react if he signs quickly - - and if it's for anything in the neighborhood of $20 million to $30 million.
--Ross Siler
4:36 PM
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4 Comments:
Well, Ross. You just said what everyone was thinking but did not want to say. If he signs for big money with L.A. its gonna hurt(feelings).
But, I think that Fishers impact on this team was helpful this past year. Moving forward it may not have been. He is getting old and the Jazz have a couple of other guys that seem to be ready to step up and lead.
I got the same impression. Derek is a great guy, but a savvy businessman too. The real question is how close Fish, Booze, and D-Will really became. Let's assume that Fish goes to the Lakers and Kobe remains. Now put into play the upcoming max deal that Williams will be demaning. Do you think he would pass up the chance to play in a big market alongside both Kobe and Fish? How about Boozer potentially following suit? Remember the stories of Boozer wanting be in LA? Far fetched, I know. But, the Lakers might be willing to go deep into luxery tax territory for more titles. Jazz fans (myself included) would like to see D-Will and Booze develope their dynasty's here. Imagine the pressure on the Jazz brass in upcoming years. Ouch.
I am amazed to see that other people actually have their heads down out of the clouds enough to catch this. Thank you Ross for being true enough and brave enough to print the article. Never judge a book by its cover because things are not always how they appear to be on the outside. Charisma is not a tough thing to master, as is very evident with Derek. I am not saying he doesn't have positive traits, but motive plays a very large part behind what people do. My family and I were discussing this situation the instant we saw the articles coming out about him leaving Utah. Ross, I think you're being generous when you say 99%. There is much more to this situation than meets the eye.
Hey! The Jazz got plenty out of this!
They got salary cap relief and an extra roster spot. They also got rid of an undersized shooting guard, which stunted the development of draft picks (plus, I preferred Gira's offense AND defense, over Derik) and a point guard who couldn't push the ball up and run the offense (How many times did he dribble the clock out for a poor or late shot?). I much preferred Dee to run the point! This does NOT mean that Fish isn't a great guy and fantastic leader, but at his age and $7 million, the Jazz must have thought "thank you Lord", for their prayers were answered. Can you imagine trying to trade him and his salary for value?
Great guy, but great Jazz move.
Jazzaholic
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