After Derek Fisher’s playing career came to an end back in 2014 following a short stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the former Los Angeles Lakers great expressed an interest in coaching on the NBA level. It didn’t take long for him to find a job with his former coach, Phil Jackson, giving him an opportunity with the New York Knicks.
Ultimately, things didn’t work out for Fisher with the Knicks. Jackson and company parted ways with the five-time NBA champion in 2016. Although Fisher didn’t have much success holding a clipboard on the sidelines in New York, the 42-year-old still wants to get back into coaching as he told Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press:
“There’s no question I’ll be back at it at some point,” Fisher said.
Fisher has been working as a TV analyst for Spectrum SportsNet and TNT during the 2016-17 NBA season. Much like former Lakers greats James Worthy and Shaquille O’Neal, Fisher is comfortable in front of a camera and appears to have a future in the field if he’s unable to return to coaching.
Fisher believes his work as an analyst will help him become a better coach, via Mahoney:
“I’ve only been at it a few weeks now, but I do think that anything that puts you in a position where you’re analyzing the game helps you,” Fisher said. “It helps you to prepare for when that becomes your full-time job as a coach.”
With so much turnover in the NBA at the head coaching position, Fisher may very well have another opportunity coach in the near future. Every year coaches come and go, and although he didn’t have immediate success after making the jump to coaching like Steve Kerr with the Golden State Warriors, Fisher may indeed be calling the shots for a team in the league once again at some point.
