Tonight Derek and the Lakers welcome former teammate Shaquille O’Neal and the Phoenix Suns to the Staples Center tonight for a Western Conference battle.
The Lakers have taken two games from Phoenix already this season, but the teams have not faced off since December. In their December 10 meeting, D-Fish scored 13 points while tallying three assists and three steals. The Lakers pulled away late and secured a 115-110 home victory.
LA also took a game from the Suns in Phoenix on November 20. The Lakers used a big third quarter to create a large lead and cruised to a 105-92 win. No. 2 scored nine points and dished out four assists in the ‘W.’
But the Suns have since fired their coach and changed their style. Derek and Co. can expect to have their hands full with the fast-paced style the Suns will employ tonight.
The Lakers and the Suns tip-off at 7:30 PST and all the action can be seen on TNT.
LABOR LEADER
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register penned a great column about Derek’s goals and aspirations for the next several years on and off the court.
“I feel like I’m in great physical shape. I don’t really need to think about physically stopping,” he said. “But at the same time I don’t want to limp out on one leg, either.”
Fisher has given this topic some thought because he’s meticulous when it comes to planning.
He will seek re-election this summer as president of the NBA players’ association, and he wants to tackle the immense challenge that is negotiating the next collective bargaining agreement between players and owners in 2011. To get there, he’ll have to sign another contract, because his Lakers deal expires after next season.
“So I’d finish up my year next year and hopefully I could re-sign for at least one year and get that deal done and complete my role with the union, and then kind of see how I’m feeling,” Fisher said. “I don’t really want to delay the inevitable.”
D-Fish goes on to talk about wanting to be able to spend time at home with his wife and kids when he retires, which may stop him from coaching, as many believe he should.
“I’ve always seen myself sliding more into business and entrepreneurial opportunities when done playing,” he said. “One day I want to be able to be at home every day, with the kids and with my wife.
“I still love to play, man, especially if I can remain a member of this team and a part of the Southern California community…I would definitely play as long as I felt I could physically contribute to the team.”
But as much as he’s focused on the court, Derek takes his role with the NBA Players Association very seriously and he’s already contemplating the hurdles to the next collective bargaining agreement.
“This round of collective bargaining is going to be the most revolutionary in the last 20 years,” Fisher said.
“In a negotiation, everything is on the table…If you don’t ask, you never receive. We fully expect that they’re going to ask for everything that they see will work better for them and what they consider to be better for the league. And it would only be fair in a negotiation for us to ask the same. I don’t think there will be any surprises, per se, but I think it’s going to be more about how both sides handle the situation.”
Fisher’s hope is that both sides understand there will be huge concessions:
“We have to be respectful to the people who have helped build our game: the fans and the media – and try to continue to build that relationship in a way that it doesn’t appear that we have no idea what other people are going through.”
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Lakers’ Fisher will be league MVP in 2011 (OC Register, Feb. 24, 2009)
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fisher-players-don-2317915-nba-going