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The Jazz and Golden State have agreed in principle on a four-player trade that will bring Derek Fisher to Utah.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported first on its Web site Wednesday morning news of the deal that the Jazz will send Devin Brown, Keith McLeod and Andre Owens to the Warriors in exchange for Fisher, a 10-year veteran who played on three NBA championship teams during his days the Los Angeles Lakers.

Good idea, according to Karl Malone, who was Fisher's teammate in Los Angeles during the 2003-04 season.

Specifically, Malone believes Fisher, the only Warrior to play all 82 games last season, is a perfect fit for Utah, which is coached by Jerry Sloan and heads into the season with two young point guards on its roster - Deron Williams and Dee Brown.

"It would be awesome," Malone said. "Basically, they would be getting everything Coach Sloan and the rest of the coaching staff likes in an athlete."

Contacted at his home in

Ruston, La., on Wednesday night, Malone said "Coach Sloan preaches being professional, and you will not meet or be around a better pro than Derek Fisher. . . . He takes his job seriously, and he hates losing. I can't say enough about him except he's awesome. If they are able to land Derek, it's a major hurdle."

Barring a last-minute hitch, the trade will be finalized next week, after Owens signs a free-agent contract with the Jazz. It's a step that is necessary to make the trade adhere to NBA salary requirements.

Fisher confirmed the trade with The Tribune's sister paper, the Contra Costa Times.

''I will try to do my job and do the best I can, whether I'm still with the Warriors or somewhere else,'' Fisher said.

Fisher is scheduled to make $5.8 million next season. Brown ($2.6 million) and McLeod ($1.35 million) will earn a combined $3.9 million, making it necessary to include Owen's salary ($839,000) in the deal.

Free agents are not allowed to sign new contracts before July 12.

Fisher, the 24th pick in the 1996 draft, spent his first eight years in the league in Los Angeles with the Lakers.

Signed as a free agent by Golden State in 2004, Fisher played the last two seasons with the Warriors.

Last year, he averaged 13.3 points and 4.3 assists while shooting 37.3 percent from the three-point line for a team that failed to reach the layoffs for the 12th straight year.

Fisher is probably best known for his game-winning shot in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference finals.

After San Antonio had taken a 73-72 lead in Tim Duncan's 18-foot jumper with 0.4 seconds remaining, the Lakers' Gary Payton inbounded the ball to Fisher.

In one motion, he caught the ball, turned and fired a 20-foot fallaway jump shot. It went in and, after TV replays confirmed he released the ball in time, the Lakers took a 3-2 lead in their series with the Spurs en route to the NBA Finals.

"He hit a big shot because he doesn't mind taking big shots," Malone said. "That's who Derek Fisher is."

Brown averaged a career-high 7.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game last season.

His future with the Jazz might have been sealed in the last week, when the Jazz re-signed unrestricted free agent Matt Harpring to a four-year contract and selected Arkansas swingman Ronnie Brewer in the first round of the draft.

McLeod averaged 5.6 points and 2.3 assists in his second season with Utah.

Last week, the Jazz exercised the $1.35 million option on his contract, and it looked like he would fill the role as Deron Williams' backup and second-round draft pick Dee Brown's mentor. Instead, that job will likely go to Fisher.

Owens played in 23 games during his rookie season with the Jazz. He averaged 3.0 points in nine minutes, but missed the final 36 games after surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left leg.

Like Brown, Owens' potential role with the Jazz diminished when Harpring re-signed and Brewer was drafted.

E-mail your thoughts on the trade to sportseditor@sltrib.com.