Derek Fisher has had a rough year so far, and much of it was tainted by that celebrated brawl between him and ex-teammate Matt Barnes. The two figures made headlines last year when Barnes allegedly stormed his former home and scuffled with Fisher for his alleged affair with Barnes’ ex-wife, Gloria Govan.

It was in October of last year when the ruckus involving then New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher and Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes shook headlines with a fistfight tied up to a love triangle. Barnes reportedly got a call from one of his sons, who told him that Fisher was at their home with their mother, Gloria Govan.

The first reports that came out claim that Barnes went to his former home to confront Fisher, but the cager clarified that he went there to check on his sons. Apparently, his sons, Carter and Isaiah, were uncomfortable having another man at the house. The situation somehow escalated when Barnes arrived and a brawl between the two ensued.

No Fight Happened

Fisher made some clarifications via The Cauldron regarding his dismissal and that celebrated October incident.

"I want to make sure my voice is now heard. I want to let people know that you can't just make things up and get away with it. I want to set a few things straight,

The former Knicks coach cleared the air that while Barnes did come swinging at him, he did not retaliate. So technically, there was no fight that happened at the time, contrary to reports.

“I don’t know what was going through Matt’s mind that day in October when he showed up unannounced at Gloria’s house, and started swinging. I didn’t retaliate," he said.

On the topic of secretly seeing Barnes’ ex-wife, Fisher said that Barnes knew about it. Fisher said, "I certainly wasn't seeing her behind Matt's back or in secret."

He added that he and Barnes were not friends. They were teammates and got along but that was about it and nothing more.

No Connection to Knicks Firing

It was that incident that sparked speculations that Fisher may have been falling short of Knicks president Phil Jackson’s framework because he was distracted by the off-court issue.

Fisher explained that there was no connection between his dismissal and that incident with Barnes despite the initial reports that came out claiming it had something to do with it.

Via his written note on The Cauldron, he explained that Knicks management talked to him about the status of the ballclub and things weren’t working out as they had envisioned it to be. It was a short and straightforward conversation and at no time was there any mention of his personal life getting in the way. Regardless, the fact is that Fisher underperformed and failed to meet the expectations of management.

The Knicks were not among the pre-tournament favorites with most believing they would be best racking up 25 to 35 wins. The Knicks currently have a 27-39 win-loss record, which seems to be as pundits expected.

Related