Derek Fisher and his wife flew out from New York to meet with Jazz owner Larry Miller and other team officials to ask for his release from the team so that he can concentrate on his daughter’s care.

His daughter of course was diagnosed with retinoblastoma earlier this year. In his statement, Fisher said,

Life for me outweighs the game of basketball,

I imagine it didn’t take much convincing for Miller to agree to release him from his contract. Miller said that Fisher “leaves a legacy” and “He’s focused on the most important thing.

Regardless of your position on Fisher, you can’t argue his decision here at all. And I can’t think of any other Jazz player that was here for such a short time, that had this big of an impact on the team and franchise. I imagine we’ll hear many statements from the other Jazz players tomorrow. He really did provide that intangible leadership that willed the Jazz to play better and to be better people. And there’s no more noticeable example than game 2 of the 2007 playoffs against the Warriors. He will be missed immensely and the Jazz have truly lost one of the great men in this game.

Derek said that he has no plans to retire, but that it’s not out of the question. I would guess he would sign with a team back east where he could be closer to specialists. I can’t see him going to NY, but maybe Boston or Detroit? Doesn’t seem right to speculate on that now.

And then of course there’s the obvious effect this will have on Jazz personnel. You have to thank Fisher for letting the team know early of his plans. That way he doesn’t leave Utah in a bind by announcing his intentions later. By letting them know early, they can plan accordingly. It just goes to show what kind of person he is. More coming on this later, but I imagine that Jazz will speed up the process of re-signing Dee Brown and step up their efforts to bring in Peterson.

Whatever may come, I’m sure I can say for all Jazz fans that we wish him the best of luck in his future professional career and more importantly, a complete and healthy recovery for his daughter. I know a lot of prayers will be said for his family.

Technorati tags: utah jazz, derek fisher