Since the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs I have lost most of my interest of the NBA Playoffs. I'll still catch parts of games here and there but I don't clear out my schedule to watch Cleveland/New Jersey. But the Jazz-Warriors game was on at the gym and they showed Derek Fisher walking into the locker room after getting back from his family situation which had kept him from playing in Game 1. As a Lakers fan I always have great memories of Derek Fisher, hitting 3's, drawing charges and of course 0.4 seconds against San Antonio in the playoffs. No one knew what his family situation was, but figuring that it must be ok if he is playing in the game immediately coming in from the airport it was a good sight to see.

Then after the game he announced what it was, his daughter had to undergo surgery for a rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. According to the link via truehoop, 87% of children with the disease die but thankfully Fishers' daughter got surgery just in time. It is amazing to think of athletes in these situations where they have off the court trouble and then end up making big plays as Fisher did for Utah last night. I will always consider D Fish a Laker and it is great to hear that the surgery went well and I wish Fisher and his family all the best.

Other news in the league surrounds another former Laker Shaquille O'Neal. Who has been the subject of possible trade rumors considering the Heat were swept out of the playoffs in the first round. Pat Riley has come out and stated that Shaq will not be traded. This is exactly what I was talking about when I defended Kobe to all the Kobe and Lakers haters when Shaq was dealt in the summer of 2003. Kobe did not run Shaq out of town, it was a business decision that the Lakers made and they were right. Big men decline drastically as they get older and the numbers prove it this year as Shaq averaged 17.3 points per game as he missed 42 games. Those numbers will only get worse as Shaq keeps aging and with the Heat on the hook for his salary at $20 million per year for the next 3 seasons it can easily be seen he is not worth that money. It was the right business decision made by Dr. Buss and the Lakers, now they just need to take those savings from not re-signing Shaq and putting it towards making the moves necessary to put a contender on the floor. A lot easier said than done but the Lakers will be making some moves this offseason or, I don't even want to think about that scenario.