Matt Barnes stands up for Los Angeles Lakers teammate Derek Fisher – NBA Update
In the wake of the reports that cited a supposed dispute between National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Billy Hunter, and NBPA President Derek Fisher, the union has moved quickly to dispel the rumours.
Hunter himself issued a letter to union members on Tuesday, November 1, endorsing Fisher and preaching unity within the league, and now Matt Barnes has also given his support to the point guard.
Barnes, who features alongside Fisher on the Los Angeles Lakers roster, sat down for an interview with ESPN. He assured the audience that Fisher is a man of integrity and character, and that all of the players are fully behind
the President of the union.
"I've known [Fisher] for a number of years, and his character is second to none in my eyes. So what he does, I know it's for the good of us," he said. "It's almost like he's the president of the country. He's the president of the
Player's Association, so all our faith lies in him and I fully trust what he's doing is for us, and for us to get to play again."
The forward’s comments were directed more specifically at allegations levelled at Derek that he was negotiating on his own with NBA Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. Those accusations surfaced after
the collapse of negotiations over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on Friday when Billy Hunter walked out on Stern.
Hunter though moved earlier to quell speculation of any rift. Stern has also come out o categorically deny that Fisher was negotiating behind the back of the players union. Fisher himself issued a letter to the members of the union
earlier this week, pledging that his loyalty was only with the players and any reports to the contrary were complete falsehoods.
The labour negotiations have been going on for more than a year and a half now, with Fisher and Hunter never having given the impression of any disconnect. It might be, as Hunter has suggested, that some elements are trying to
plant the seeds of despair among the union by starting such rumours.
Barnes though has shown that the players are still behind the union, and will hold out for as long as possible. They have gotten fed up with the constant game cancellations so they continue to appear on in exhibition games and
pro-am leagues.
Barnes himself featured heavily in such matches over the summer and became notorious for his indiscipline in the largely friendly exchanges. He has though laughed off the matter, saying if he gets away with it, he will have a go
at the referee every day.
"If I get a chance to yell at a ref who makes a bad call and not have to pay $2500 or $5000 [in fines to the NBA], I'm going to do it all day," Barnes laughed. "These free technicals, I'm going to kind of enjoy until I can't do
it anymore."
His bad habits could incur some serious fines once the NBA regular season starts again.
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