"I remember what Karl said that day," Miller recalled. "He said, 'If you can get him, I highly, highly recommend it.' ''

Teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2003-04 season, the never-easy-to-impress Malone became a huge fan of Fisher, whose professionalism during the tumultuous final year of the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant Era was impossible to miss and hard not to admire.

On Friday afternoon, Miller was smiling, because the trade that brought Fisher from Golden State for Devin Brown, Keith McLeod and Andre Owens became official.

Fisher passed his physical and was introduced to Utah during a news conference at the Jazz's practice facility.

"This, to me, is a very significant trade for the franchise," Miller said. "Derek is a very important element with what we're trying to create here."

Fisher, 31, is a 10-year veteran who owns three championship rings. He is expected to stabilize a young backcourt for a team that has not reached the playoffs since John Stockton retired and Malone left after the '02-03 season.

"We hope Derek helps take us to that bigger stage," said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of basketball operations.

One thing is certain: Fisher will no longer haunt Utah.

Said Miller: "I've been a Derek Fisher fan, partly because of the pain he has inflicted on us."

Initially "shocked" by the trade, Fisher seemed to have reconciled those feelings during his first public appearance in Utah.

He called it "an exciting day for me," and downplayed the notion that a player who has spent his entire career in California won't be able to find happiness in Salt Lake City.

Pointing out that he spent the first 21 years of his life in Little Rock, Ark., Fisher said, "This city is not too big and not too small. It's just right."

He also dismissed the notion that he's past his prime.

"After you're 30, everyone closes their eyes and turns the other way and thinks you're done," said Fisher, who noted that he was joining a franchise made famous by old-timers Stockton and Malone.

Declaring "my best years are ahead of me," Fisher suggested the Jazz can win more games than they did last season, when they finished 41-41.

The Tribune first reported the trade July 5, but NBA rules prevented it from being consummated until July 12.

With the Jazz's blessing, O'Connor said, he took another week to stay home with his wife, newborn twin daughters and to digest the situation before coming to Utah for his physical.

Fisher first heard about the deal while going to work out at a gym in the Bay Area.

"A guy came up to me and told me I had been traded to the Utah Jazz," he said. "It was kind of a blow."

Why?

"The trade scenario was one that wasn't even a thought for me," Fisher said. "I didn't even know they were thinking about trading me."

Credentials

* Derek Fisher has three NBA championship rings from his days with the Los Angeles Lakers.

* He is a respected locker room leader who distributes the ball well, but also has a reputation for making dramatic, clutch baskets.

Fishy Deal

* Derek Fisher was in town Friday to finalize a trade with Golden State. Utah traded Devin Brown, Keith McLeod and Andre Owens for Fisher.

* Fisher averaged 13.3 points per game last year with Golden State and 4.3 assists per game.