TheShums

When the news first broke that the Jazz were letting Fisher out of his contract, the local papers reported it as if he was possibly going to retire (although he said he had no plans to do so), or at least take some time away from basketball, to care for his daughter. "Life for me outweighs the game of basketball," he said at the time.

We Jazz fans knew he had made a lot of sacrifices for our team, and he had left us with that absolutely spine-tingling moment against Golden State (I'll never forget it). He had provided veteran leadership for a team that needed it. He served as a mentor to young Deron Williams, without taking umbrage at D-Will's superior talent. We loved Fisher, we wished him well, we would miss him. All was right with the world.

Then a suspiciously short time later, we heard Fisher was going to sign with the Lakers, and we were stunned. All that talk about taking time away was apparently just talk, then? What happened to the doctors in New York, who had seemed to be so significant during the playoffs? Why the Lakers, of all teams? Why?

Then the pieces started coming together. Remembering that Fisher had been devastated upon leaving Golden State, and seemed disappointed about coming to Utah. Remembering that he had shot poorly in a lot of games. Realizing that his stats had gone down, across the board, from his previous year in Golden State (and surprise, surprise, they're back up this year). Things started seeming, well, Fishy.

Then our built-in Jazz fan inferiority complexes took over. When you live in the most mocked state in the Union, and you're a fan of the most disliked team in the league, you tend to get a little defensive. We started imagining things about Fisher's demeanor, in-game and out. We figured he must have hated it here, since everyone always does. We assumed he couldn't wait to get out of what he perceived as the armpit of America. The fact that he signed with the Lakers, rather than Boston or New York or New Jersey, all of whom could have used him, sealed the deal in our minds: Fisher hated us, hated the team, hated Jerry Sloan, hated Utah, and was desperate for a way out. His daughter's disease provided one, and he took it.

Is that the way it really went down? Probably not. Most likely not. I've interviewed Derek Fisher, and found him to be a perfect example of professionalism, class, and sportsmanship. I have no doubt in my own mind that he did what was right for his family, and I wish him nothing but the best. I may boo the Lakers, but I'll never boo him. But I can certainly understand why some Jazz fans do.

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