Getting traded isn’t easy for many athletes, particularly when you’re in your 13th season with a club for whom you’ve won five championships. That’s why getting dealt to Houston at the deadline wasn’t easy for former Lakers point guard Derek Fisher.
Fisher signed with the Thunder after the Rockets waived him, and he beat his former team Thursday night. He talked about the trade Thursday with Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears.
“I think the door was shut pretty hard in terms of how [the trade] happened,” Fisher said. “Obviously, the team felt they needed to move on. I have as well.”
“I’ve always thought there are different ways to handle trades and waiver-type situations where there can be some more communication – not necessarily far in advance but enough not to have to find out from the mailman or at the post office that you’ve been traded,” Fisher said. “And I’m not saying that’s what happened in this case, but I did wake up and I was traded. That’s the part that shocks you more than anything.”
I understand where Fish is coming from, but if you’re the Lakers, all you have to do is look at the way Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol behaved after learning they were part of trade talks. Odom’s feelings were hurt so badly he felt his relationship with the Lakers was irreparable so they dealt him to Dallas. Gasol played several games tentatively because he was unsure about his future. Keeping players’ names out of trade rumors helps them focus and perform better, so the Lakers probably didn’t want to risk telling Fisher he was being shopped in case a trade didn’t go through.
H/T I am a GM
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
