Former NBA forward Stephen Jackson weighed in on the feud between Derek Fisher and Matt Barnes, and he is decidedly not on Fisher’s side.
“First, I don’t talk to Derek Fisher,” Jackson told Hoops Hype. “He’s not my type of guy. Matt Barnes is my buddy. I really don’t believe in playing with a guy … You know two or three years on a team and then dating his wife. That’s just something NBA players don’t do. I never believed in that. He went against the code 100 percent.”
Fisher is dating Barnes’ estranged wife, Gloria Govan, which led to a fist fight before last season that Fisher took to the authorities. It isn’t the first time that Jackson has adhered to his supposed bro-code. When D’Angelo Russell’s Snapchat scandal hit — a hidden camera revelation of Lakers teammate Nick Young cheating on his fiancee — Jackson’s response was: “Snitches get stitches.”
Fisher and Baron Davis were mentioned to Jackson because all three are considering an NBA comeback. On a SiriusXM interview last month, Jackson said his role would be “perfect” on the Knicks. He added to HoopsHype the team is “going in the right direction” and “wants to win.” Fisher was let go as Knicks coach last season, and Jeff Hornacek was hired this offseason following an interim run by Kurt Rambis.
If the 38-year-old Jackson truly does want to come back, he has no shortage of suitors — according to himself. In addition to the Knicks, Jackson, who hasn’t played in the league since 2014, claims he’s been talking to Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo, who “really want me.” Apparently, he also spoke to former teammate and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, but hasn’t yet “agreed to do anything with Golden State.”
For any other potentially interested parties, Jackson wasn’t short on self-advertising. He called himself “a great teammate,” the “ultimate teammate” and noted “there’s not many guys like me,” because of his two-way ability.