There has been some down time while Derek Fisher and the Los Angeles Lakers have traveled the world this week, playing games in London on Monday and tomorrow in Barcelona.
But for No. 2, as is always the case, when it comes to basketball, it’s time to get down to business.
"I think the experience can be great," Derek told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times. "At the same time for us, it’s a work trip. Even the times we’ve gone to places like Hawaii for training camp, there’s not much laying out on the beach and enjoying the sights, regardless of what city or location you’re in. So it’s kind of the same thing. We’re not so focused on where we’re even going.
"We just know that we have to take a trip. But we’re going to be committed to the process and most importantly the fans and the people that are going to come out and be a part of the events that we’re attending. We’ll still be respectful and do the things that we have to do, but I think we’ll be looking forward to coming back as well in getting back to work on our home turf."
Derek driving to the basket against the Wolves (Getty Images).
Fish scored 12 points in 15 minutes on Monday during LA’s 111-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in London, England. But he also saw the matchup as more than just an exhibition, but an opportunity for the newest Lakers — Steve Blake, Theo Ratliff, Matt Barnes, Derrick Caracter and Devin Ebanks — to get acclimated away from the comfortable surroundings of their home in Los Angeles.
Fish also noted that limited minutes for Kobe Bryant, recovering from knee surgery, and the absence of center Andrew Bynum could be a chance to give everyone else more acclimation minutes in the preseason.
"I see that helping all of us, but in particular myself," said Fisher, who signed a three-year contract this offseason believed to be worth about $10.5 million, including a player option in the third year. "I see a lot of things out there that I can take advantage of with the personnel that we have."
So the Lakers will have some fun while seeing the sites in two of the world’s most beautiful cities, but D-Fish doesn’t want the Lakers to be able to use their travels as a crutch once the games start to mean something, as he told the Associated Press:
"I’m not a fish-and-chips type of guy, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to enjoy some fine dining," Fisher said. "It’s tough to prepare for the type of season we have in front of us with such a disjointed October, but I think we’ve maximized what we have. I don’t think we’ll view it as an excuse to lean on or anything as to why we don’t start the season the right way."
There’s something to be said for winning too and after Monday’s loss to the Timberwolves, D-Fish cautioned that the Lakers shouldn’t sleep on Regal FC Barcelona, whom they play on Thursday, as he told the LA Times Lakers Blog:
"I do think we have to take into account what the game could mean for them, more than us, per se," Fisher said. "The emotion will be tangible in the building, playing against the home team."
Fisher also thinks that his team will step up to help Gasol return home, and leave home, as the conquering hero.
"We should want to win and have a good showing for
[Pau]," Fisher said. "Not that we didn’t necessarily take pride in our performance [against the Timberwolves], but we should recognize the game on Thursday means a little bit more."FRESH LEGS
Despite being the Lakers’ iron man with 413 consecutive regular season games played and having gone the distance in the postseason with LA each of the last three years, D-Fish entered camp last week fresh and ready to go."It’s my mindset overall just when every time there’s a chance to help my team win a game, I want to be available no matter what," Derek said. "It never has consciously been keeping track of the number of games or let me get to a certain point, I think this past season kind of became something where I was even aware of the number.
"It’s been more so about the mentality that when it’s time to go to work, it’s time to go to work. That’s the way I’m going into it this season. I don’t plan on missing any nights."
D-Fish has benefited from LA’s depth since his return to the Lakers three years ago and it has allowed him to remain fresh deeper into the season and be at his best when the Lakers inevitably enter the postseason.
Postcard pose: From D-Fish and Kobe, with love (Getty Images.)With the addition of Blake and the retention of Shannon Brown, LA is as deep at point guard as it’s ever been during Derek’s tenure and No. 2 is comfortable sharing his minutes.
"I’m a realist in that regard. I can’t remember the last time I played in excess of 30 minutes per game in the regular season for quite some time," Fish said. "So I’m not coming into this season expecting to play more than that. But however many minutes there are, I plan to maximize them, be aggressive, take advantage of opportunities and do things the way I’m capable of doing them.
"When I’m out, it’s Steve’s turn, or Shannon’s turn or Sasha’s turn or whoever else is going to come in and do the job. But I think we’re all excited about the individual opportunities we have to do things as a team."
HEAT CHECK
Derek did his due diligence this summer, check into his options as a free agent, including a visit to discuss possibilities with the revamped Miami Heat.But when it came down to it, he had to come back to finish what he started in LA.
"I was just making sure that I took everything into account and had a full understanding for myself of what things will be important to me as I move through my career," Derek told ESPN LA’s Kamenetzky Brothers. "It’s the things that I try to teach my children. It would be the same thing. I would say: ‘Take in all of the offers, all of the information. Lay them down, write down pros and cons and really think your way through this before you just make a snap decision because maybe that’s what everybody else wants you to do.’
"I’m very happy and very comfortable with the decision that I made. My relationship with Kobe and my relationship with the city and these fans means to more to me than any other thing in my professional career. I’m excited to be back."
To listen to Derek’s entire media day interview with the Kamenetzky Brothers, click here.
Kevin Ding of the OC Register talked to Kobe Bryant about Fish’s return and Bryant admitted that he was on Fish all summer about remaining a Laker, as Ding reported:
"Bryant said he had talks with Fisher "literally every single day" leading up to Fisher’s free-agent decision, conveying through all that listening what Bryant said wasn’t proper for him just to say when it was Fisher’s decision to make: "It was very important for me to have him back."
So Derek returns to LA, armed with a desire to win his sixth NBA Championship in LA and although he knows how much of a challenge the Heat might present, D-Fish made it clear, you have to beat the champs to be the champs, as he told NBA.com:
"Who’s the favorite?" Derek Fisher said, repeating the question. "Well, we’re the champs so we view ourselves as the favorite. I don’t think that will ever change as long as we have the guys that we have. It doesn’t matter what other teams have been able to do. We feel confident about what we can accomplish as a team, but we know there’ll be hard work behind it."
No. 2 does admit that Miami will be a factor, but that the Lakers will have to worry about themselves above anybody else.
"I think they have, not even just a little bit, a lot of pieces that are needed to win a championship," Fisher said. "With Phil’s experience and myself and Kobe and a lot of our guys — Lamar, Pau — we have a lot of guys who have crossed over into another part of their career and with that type of maturity, there’s really not much concern about what other people are doing. The concern for us is within our own locker room and within our own gym."
NEW DEAL
No. 2’s new Lakers contract wasn’t the only new deal he signed this offseason, D-Fish also inked a new endorsement deal that moved him from Nike to Adidas, as Allan Brettman of The Oregonian reports:Terms of the deal are confidential, but Fisher, 36, was intrigued with the possibility of working with Adidas after his playing career ends, said Chris Grancio, Adidas head of global sports marketing.
Grancio said Fisher and Adidas agreed to the deal last week after having begun talks two weeks ago.
"We had the opportunity to go over to him to talk about our brand," Grancio said in a phone interview from his Adidas North America office on North Greeley Avenue, "and he found our presentation interesting and compelling."
Fisher, president of the National Basketball Players Association, reflects Adidas values through his professional and personal life, Grancio said.
"He’s incredibly committed to charities in the community," he said of Fisher, who played at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
FISH THOUGHTS
This weekend, Derek published a short piece for USA Weekend, a USA Today publication about his work in the community and what it means to him.The entire piece can be read below:
Giving back has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
When I was a child in Little Rock, my parents worked hard to teach us the value of sharing what we had with others. Now that I’m a father, I’m trying to instill that trait in my own four kids.
My first real awareness of what that meant beyond my family and friends began when I started playing AAU basketball at age 10. Our team was a non-profit, so to buy supplies and travel to tournaments, we had to raise money. That’s when I realized other people were helping me do the things I wanted to do.
Now I’m in a position to be one of those people. I work with the Teaching Garden, which shows kids how to grow fruits and vegetables in inner cities and urban communities. With fellow NBA players Tracy McGrady and Baron Davis, I’m part of the Darfur Dream Team, which connects American schools with students in refugee camps. I try to give back to my peers in the league by serving as president of the National Basketball Players Association. My wife and I also created the Derek & Candace Fisher Family Foundation, which supports issues close to us, including education, health and fitness.
Perhaps the cause closest to my heart is retinoblastoma and the families it affects. Our 4-year-old daughter, Tatum, was diagnosed with this rare form of eye cancer when she was 9 months old. It was difficult, but we found the strength to handle it, and we’re doing our best to give Tatum the opportunities to live a happy life. That includes teaching her, and her siblings, the joy that comes with giving someone else something that is yours. Make A Difference Day is an opportunity to teach your kids about sharing. It can be as simple as visiting a nursing home or collecting toys for kids at a homeless shelter. Follow your instincts on how to make your own difference in the world.
NEXT UP
The Lakers are in Barcelona and take on Regal FC Barcelona to wrap up their European exhibition tour on Thursday.Tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PST and the game can be seen nationwide on NBATV.
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