Two Lakers point guards went to practice Sunday, their shared lifelong passion for their game inspiring both to continue cultivating L.A.’s winning basketball history.
Granted, practice Sunday was in different cities, different leagues and for different teams, because Derek Fisher and Tyronn Lue are coaches now, 20 years removed from the pair of titles they won together as point guards on Phil Jackson’s team.
In Glendale, the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks opened camp for the 25th season, and their third under Fisher, whose goal this season will be to guide a new-look roster to the franchise’s fourth title and first since 2016.
Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Lue prepared the Clippers for the final 10 regular-season games as they continue their quest for a first NBA championship.
Both coaches remain in contact, they said Sunday, happy to help an old teammate however possible.
“We talked this summer a lot, just on different things and he was picking my brain about a lot of different scenarios and different things as well,” Lue said, via Zoom audio.
Some of that conversation, Fisher said, occurred soon after Lue landed the Clippers job in October and before Fisher’s role with the Sparks grew to incorporate duties as general manager two months later.
“Ty had some conversations back when he got the job,” Fisher said, also via Zoom, from Academy USA, the Sparks’ new practice facility. “We obviously played together here in L.A. and have maintained a really close relationship. A lot of our conversation was about how I could possibly be helpful for him. Whether it was staff or not, he’s my brother, so a lot of it was about him moving back to L.A. and where to live … he asked me about living in the valley, we talked about a number of different things.
“A lot of this conversation was prior to some of the conversations that continued to evolve between ownership and I here at the Sparks, so as those conversations increased and elevated to where we are now, in terms of being the general manager of the team, I haven’t talked to Tyronn about those things since then. But prior to that, really a lot of it was just he and I really connecting again and making sure that he knew I was here to be of service to him. I’m like that with all the guys I’ve played with, or try to be. I have similar conversations with Luke Walton and also other coaches that are coaching in the NBA now.
“So it was great though to talk to him and get a feel for what he was planning this year — even though he’s coaching, what a lot of us at times would consider to be the other side, here in L.A. — I’m always pulling for him.”
Previously, Lue, an 11-year NBA veteran, led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA title, and to three consecutive Finals appearances.
He was a serious candidate to take over the Lakers head coaching job two seasons ago, but instead he joined the Clippers as an assistant to Doc Rivers. Lue took over as the team’s head coach this season, and his Clippers are 43-19 and currently seeded third in the Western Conference.
Fisher spent 11 of his 18 NBA seasons with the Lakers and won five titles while wearing the purple and gold. He took the job with the Sparks in 2019 after a short, fraught tenure leading the New York Knicks, starting in 2014, after which they went 40-96 in his first foray into coaching.
The Sparks, in two seasons with Fisher at the helm, are 37-19 and have reached the playoffs both years.
In December, Fisher added GM to his coaching duties, excited, he said then, about taking “a more hands-on role in our vision and how we want to do things, not just on the court in terms of Xs and Os, but the vision for our culture, our operating system, how we want to work together, how we want to collaborate.”
“Energy. Passion. Effort…” @LA_Sparks‘ coach Derek Fisher is wired in the huddle!
Tune-in to 4th quarter action NOW on ESPN2. #WNBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Vn14UtV2pu
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 18, 2019
Lue said he can think back to their time as Lakers teammates and pinpoint qualities in Fisher inherent in a coach.
“Just the work he put in as a player, how he had to grind to get where he was at in his NBA career,” Lue said. “And then just being beside him and just seeing how he always studied the game. Running the triangle offense was something that was good for all of us when Phil first came in, but the work that Fish put in to try to master it, understanding where he was supposed to be on the floor, where everybody else was supposed to be on the floor, and helping guys get through that process, was unbelievable.
“I always knew he had a chance to be a good coach, and his demeanor, the way he treats people and things like that, I knew he would be perfect for it.”
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