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Yesterday wasn't all good news for the Lakers. After re-signing Kobe Bryant, we learned late in the evening that Derek Fisher will join the Golden State Warriors. This move is beyond perplexing. Why would Fisher want to play for one of the worst teams in the NBA, and be reunited with Nick Van Exel? It must be the money, and now you have to figure that the Warriors will trade Van Exel or Speedy Claxton. Lakers fans may remember Van Exel acting openly jealous and childish over being benched in favor of Fisher back in 1998, which led Jerry West to ship Van Exel to Denver for almost nothing.
Losing Fisher is not a real surprise though, seeing as how he probably did not want to backup Gary Payton for another season. And actually, Lakers fans, this is a blessing in disguise. Fisher may have been a class act, and his buzzer beater against the Spurs may live forever in Laker lore, but he was a lousy defensive point guard. His inability to guard Tony Parker and even Troy Hudson was what led the Lakers to acquire "The Glove" Gary Payton in the first place (and Ron Harper before him).
Derek, LAist will miss you, but we won't mind the change too much.
