Fisher said he wasn’t concerned about the issue becoming a distraction for the Knicks.
“No, I individually can’t control, I guess, how other people or players handle distraction,” he said. “I think that’s an individual process for each guy. Like I said to them, you try your best. I tried as a player for a long time to — you try your best to mitigate any distraction.
“But some things you can’t control. And I was very honest with them as far as that goes.”
Fisher also didn’t seem concerned that the incident could undermine his authority with the players.
“I get the question. I don’t really, I guess, want to get into why I missed practice,” Fisher said. “I guess I’ll cover that at some point. I think you guys know my choice six or seven months ago in terms of my family and where my kids live. So as far as that goes, the guys are the ones that ultimately know who I am and what I’m about. They see me every day. Players are smart. They feel things very acutely. So if guys feel like I’m not here or not focused, they’ll find that out. At this point [it’s not an issue].”
Fisher, who is in his second season as Knicks coach, didn’t rule out the possibility of legal ramifications in relation to the incident.
“I guess we’ll see,” he said.
Information from ESPN Staff Writer Dave McMenamin was used in this report.
Article Appeared @http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13832349/derek-fisher-newyork-knicks-matt-barnes-memphis-grizzlies-scuffle-party