DALLAS -- A few days after Derek Fisher explained to the Los Angeles Times why he left the Dallas Mavericks one day, only to return and play for the Oklahoma City Thunder 65 days later, Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki gave his thoughts on the issue.
Fisher signed a free agent contract with the Mavs on Nov. 29. But at his request, the Mavs released him on Dec. 22 because he said he missed his family, who reside in Southerm California.
However, the Mavs were somewhat perturbed when Fisher signed his contract with the Thunder. The Mavs wanted to know what happened to the "I miss my family'' story Fisher told the Mavs?
"If a guy says he misses his kids and his family, that’s really not much you can say,'' said Nowitkzi, who gave Fisher the benefit of the doubt. "And now it's already later in the season where he’s probably only away for a couple of months.
"A man got to make a decision for himself sometimes, and that’s what he did.’’
About leaving the Mavs, Fisher told the LA Times: "I was being open and honest at the time and I'm being open and honest now. At the time, I felt strong about the decision on a personal level.
"It wasn't anything about Dallas or (owner) Mark (Cuban) that I was not happy about. Just personally, I didn't enjoy being away from my family at the time.''
And now?
"Over the last couple of months, being out of the game and having a chance to reflect on some things and think about some things, when this opportunity presented itself and I thought about the totality of my career, I decided that this was something I deserved to do for myself," Fisher told the LA Times. "Sometimes as a leader, you can't make decisions based on what other people are going to think or how they're going to feel.
"You just do what you think is right at that time and that's what I'm doing here."
Fisher did paid homeage to the Mavs' brass.
"I respect Mark, I respected coach (Rick) Carlisle, I respect their team. That will never change, but it's not about everyone else necessarily.
"It's just about making a decision I felt was best for me at this time."
-- Dwain Price
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