Derek Fisher Has His Priorities Right

There are times, very rare ones, when you meet someone and immediately recognize them as a person of quality.

Someone grounded and sincere. Someone without pretense. Who you can almost instantly sense is a good person.

You don't see this written about an NBA player nearly often enough, but columnist Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote those words about Derek Fisher, whom he met when Fisher was playing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Fisher has been a solid player in the league for a number of years, but his biggest move came this week, when he asked to be released from a contract that guaranteed him $20.6 million over the next three years.

He wants to spend more time in one of the handful of NBA cities that offer the appropriate medical care for his 1-year-old daughter, who has a rare form of eye cancer.

So he asked the Utah Jazz to release him from the final three years of his contract, and to owner Larry Miller's great credit, he did.

"Life for me has always outweighed the game of basketball," Fisher said.

Normally when you hear a player talk about "taking care of his family" he is in the process of selling his services to the highest bidder. When Derek Fisher says that, he means it literally.

Click here to read the rest of Dilbeck's column in the LA Daily News.