Derek Fisher draws criticism for new job (no, not as Sparks coach)

A controversial second gig for the embattled new Sparks coach.

Alongside the announcement that Derek Fisher would be the new head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, the longtime NBA veteran and former Knicks coach picked up another gig.

“Derek Fisher has joined Luxury Asset Capital, an alternative financing vehicle for athletes that lends them in between $50K & $5M using their property, contracts & pension as collateral,” Darren Rovell reported on Twitter.

For those unfamiliar, Luxury Asset Capital acts as essentially a payday lender for athletes, giving them cash now, in exchange for their assets over time—long-term contracts, projected future earnings, etc. It’s done with interest, of course, which is how the company makes its money.

The company had already drawn negative publicity for its business model, and the new role for Fisher did not go unnoticed by some of his former colleagues in the NBA.

Fisher was asked about it on ESPN Radio, and had this to say: “I’m excited to confront it and move on. It’s interesting to me that they feel that way or have made those comments without anything based in facts or the truth. So that’s not actually factually correct, about what the company is. I got involved with this company much before the Sparks opportunity developing. And I’m proud to be part of the group—quality people, reputable people. What we do is to help out high net worth individuals, including athletes, to improve their financial situation. There isn’t anything predatory about our lending practices or what we did. We are there to help athletes or entertainers. It is there, primarily—if there is a short-term liquidity or cash flow event, that this person needs to tackle, we can be an alternative option to the traditional banking system.”

Presumably, it’ll be up to those who have criticized Fisher for this to determine whether providing short-term loans that the “traditional banking system” would provide is in any way different than the payday loans that so many view as problematic ethically.

Asked if Fisher had any further comment on this, a Sparks spokesperson referred High Post Hoops to Fisher’s statement on ESPN Radio. Penny Toler, through a spokesperson, once again declined comment, continuing what has been a weeks-long policy dating back to Brian Agler’s resignation as Sparks coach to refuse interview requests from HPH and others, with Toler only appearing in an announced media avail at a brief press conference appearance on December 7.

UPDATE: Toler apparently honored a previously-scheduled interview with a British outlet, according to a Sparks spokesperson, and spoke on the subject here. HPH has inquired why she honored a previously scheduled media inquiries but is refusing to do anything new about her new head coach—something that typically, WNBA teams are eager to get more press on. No response as of now. HPH has requested Toler several times, and was told as recently as Wednesday by a Sparks spokesperson that Toler would not be doing “any further media at this time.”

The decision continues to leave Fisher hanging out to dry, forced to answer questions about the process that led to his own hiring, and is unfair to Fisher.

High Post Hoops has also reached out to the WNBA and WNBPA, and will update this post as we hear back.