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Posted: 7:53 PM- Citing a need to be closer to doctors who can treat his daughter for cancer, guard Derek Fisher announced Monday that he is leaving the Jazz.

With league approval, Fisher was released from his contract that would have paid him nearly $21 million over the next three years.

Fisher's 11-month-old daughter, Tatum, was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma and began treatment in New York for it during Utah's playoff run.

She must have monthly exams, and her twin, Drew, must have precautionary exams every other month.

Fisher said the decision to leave the Jazz wasn't made until Sunday evening while the family was in New York, where they will undergo more exams Tuesday. The family had plans to fly back to the city late Monday.

Fisher said he and his wife, Candace, have a short list of six or seven cities where they can get the treatment they require, but Salt Lake City was not one of them.

Fisher can't comment on what cities he is looking at until July 11, when the moratorium ends for free agency.

The Jazz left open the possibility that they could work a trade with Fisher if the right team and right city were found together. What is certain is his days with the Jazz are over.

"This is what I have to do to go forward and manage her care," he said. "I have no plans to retire from basketball, but her care is what we have to consider first and foremost, and we'll go down the line in terms of steps we need to take care of in that arena first."

Fisher averaged 10.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 27.9 minutes per game for the Jazz, appearing in all 82 regular season games.

After spending time in New York during Tatum's initial treatment, Fisher made a dramatic return to the court against Golden State in the conference semifinals when he arrived at the EnergySolutions Arena midway through the third quarter and gave the Jazz an emotional lift that carried them past the Warriors in overtime.

"It's tough to deal with because of the relationships I've developed with this team and organization," Fisher said. "The entire Jazz organization, not just what we accomplished as a team but what we've all gone through, has almost made us an extended family. The team was more than gracious to allow me to focus on those things at that time, right in the middle of the most important part of the team's season."

Jazz owner Larry H. Miller broke down during the press conference. "We wish him well, he has a lot of variables he has to deal with, but he is focused on the most important thing," Miller said.