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Posted: 6:56 PM- Derek Fisher has played his last game in a Jazz uniform, making the surprising announcement Monday afternoon that he will leave the team.
The president of the Players Association and longtime league veteran will care for his 11-month old daughter, Tatum, who was diagnosed with eye cancer in the Western Conference semifinals. Fisher said that at this time, basketball was not a priority.
He did add, however, that he is also not prepared to retire.
He will leave almost $21 million in salary on the table, which was due to be paid to him over the next three seasons.
Fisher, who recently completed his 10th year in the NBA, led an inexperienced Jazz playoff team to the Western Conference Finals, where Utah lost to the finals champion San Antonio Spurs.
Fisher averaged just under 10 points a game through the playoffs, but it was an emotional run, after he disclosed that his daughter had been diagnosed with eye cancer midway through the conference semifinals.
Fisher was picked 24th by the Lakers in the 1996 NBA Draft, and spent his first eight seasons in Los Angeles, before being traded to Golden State. He was acquired by the Jazz in a trade on July 12, 2006.