It's for that reason Fisher made the decision — which he has been pondering, with the Jazz's knowledge, for quite some time — now rather than later.

"I don't find it, personally, fair," he said, "to have extended this out, and thought about it all summer, and mulled over it, knowing that this is something that we're gonna have to deal with, no matter how you put it."

One solution might have been for Fisher to play here while his family lived somewhere where Tatum could receive top-notch care.

Many NBA players have maintain long-distance relationships with spouses during the season, but Fisher did not consider that an option for him and his wife, Candace.

"For me and my family, we don't believe in it. This just is not how it works for us," he said. "We enjoy coming home to each other, we enjoy being there for each other — and it would not be fair to ask my wife not just to raise our children and handle our family with me being gone seven months out of the year, but then (also oversee) what we're dealing with specifically with Tatum.

"That's not fair to ask her to carry that kind of burden. ... I don't even think I could be the player that I need to be, if I had to carry that load — and then, ultimately, I'm not being fair to the team, because it's affecting my performance.

"Trust me," Fisher added, "I've gone through it a million times on how to just make it all fit and all work to where everybody could be happy and everybody could get what they need out of this — and it just didn't quite come together."

Fisher file

Career:

Points per game 8.6

Assists per game 2.6

Rebounds per game 2.4

2006-07 season:

Points per game 10.1

Assists per game 3.3

Rebounds per game 1.8

---

E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com