For Fisher, Cheers, Tears And Boos

The central issue, while nothing excuses the insensitivity, is that a good many folks believe Fisher used his daughter's illness to orchestrate his way out of Utah and back to Los Angeles.

Never mind that Fisher was acting on the advice of his doctors in New York. Never mind that he wound up leaving "$6.5, 7 million on the table" to leave the Jazz. Reason took a back seat to a misguided civic pride, where a father somehow becomes a treasonous villain for using his every resource to care for his daughter.

"If we can agree that my daughter has a cancerous tumor in her eye. . . . at that point whatever I choose to do that's best for her, it doesn't really matter where I work, who I work for, what type of job I have," he said. "Those are personal and private matters or decisions . . . I guess because I have a public career . . . obviously people feel that they can speak out or have an opinion about it. . . . The Lakers were an afterthought . . . after the city of L.A. was chosen. Our doctors in New York gave us five cities that he felt comfortable with.

"So initially," he said, "there were calls made from the Jazz about doing a trade to one of these teams in these particular cities, and once that couldn't happen, I said, 'Look, give my family and I the chance to make this [decision] ourselves.' Even if [the Jazz had] traded me to Memphis or Miami, San Francisco, it doesn't necessarily mean that we are going to feel comfortable in that city with those doctors and those medical professionals, as great as they may be."

Once the decision was made to move to L.A., there was still no guarantee he would play for the Lakers. In fact, Fisher began talks with the Clippers. Forgotten in all this is that Fisher re-joined a Lakers team that was involved in talks to trade Bryant, a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season.

The Lakers were as likely to miss the playoffs as qualify, while the Jazz had a team that was coming off a trip to the conference finals, helped there by Fisher.

Fans usually aren't logical, but Fisher is. He's one of the most respected players in the league, one defined by his work ethic. Fisher has played in all 82 games five times in the last six seasons.

He is exactly what ought to be applauded in every NBA arena.

It is probably just as well Tatum is too young to know anything about this. Fisher said his daughter is, "doing great. She will be 2, as well as her twin brother, on June 29. And it's amazing to see her every day and see the things she's into, and having fun, and you can tell a little bit what she's been through, but she's doing great."

As usual, the children are way, way ahead of the adults.