For starters, Fisher's departure temporarily pushes the Jazz's payroll below the NBA's projected salary cap for next season. It also increases the likelihood the team will spend its entire $5.5 million midlevel salary cap exception this month in free agency.

The Jazz remain the front-runners to sign Toronto's Morris Peterson and likely will watch Fisher agree to terms with a new team sooner rather than later. Everything after that, though, is a little more complicated.

Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations, summed up the consensus opinion from other general mangers about what happened with Fisher.

"I think everybody looked at it like, 'Wow,' " O'Connor said. " 'That's unbelievable both ways.' I'm not sure many owners would have done that, to be honest with you."

O'Connor would not say the Jazz gained in any way from losing Fisher, borrowing one of his pet phrases, "You can't play money," and said the Jazz would be worse off without Fisher next season.

"From a total business point of view, it was not a good day for us, and it was not a good day for him," O'Connor said. "From the family point of view, it was a no-brainer."

After subtracting the $6.4 million Fisher was owed for next season, the Jazz's payroll now stands at $53.5 million, about $2.5 million below the projected cap. The Jazz had been creeping toward the luxury-tax threshold, in the $67 million range.

The Jazz were set to pay Fisher nearly $7 million for each of the three remaining seasons he was under contract, even though he was likely to come off the bench behind Deron Williams and a new starting shooting guard.

Now the Jazz will try to find that shooting guard, as well as a backup point guard, through the free-agent market. They are still the top suitors for Peterson, a source said Tuesday, and Peterson is likely to visit Salt Lake in the coming days.

Peterson still has the Jazz first on his list of teams, the source said, but also has received interest from Cleveland, New Orleans, Golden State, Detroit, Denver and Miami. After losing Fisher, the Jazz's need for a veteran like Peterson probably grew in importance.

One potential complication would come with the Jazz opting to split the midlevel on the two guards they need. Peterson wants a deal starting at the full midlevel, or close to it, based on the 2005-06 season, when he averaged 16.8 points.

The Raptors agreed with Miami's Jason Kapono to a four-year, $24 million deal on the first day of free agency, and Peterson is said to regard himself as worthy of an equivalent contract, the source said.

Two other players the Jazz have expressed interest in are New Orleans' Jannero Pargo and New Jersey's Eddie House, according to agent Mark Bartelstein. But the Jazz concede the difficulty in luring free agent point guards with Williams entrenched at the position.

The Jazz have tendered a qualifying offer to Dee Brown, their No. 3 point guard this season, who is a restricted free agent.

Fisher, meanwhile, is searching for the right fit of a team in a city with the specialized medical care his 12-month-old daughter needs as she undergoes continued treatment for a form of eye cancer. One possibility is a return to the Los Angeles Lakers, where Fisher played on three championship teams.

Even if he is signed by another team, the Jazz expect that Fisher will lose $5 million to $10 million between his old and new deals. Bartelstein said interest in Fisher was strong on his first day as a free agent and expects that he will sign during the July window.

Though the Jazz are below the salary cap, they only have the midlevel and a second exception starting at $1.83 million. Fisher benefited far more from the timing of his decision, hitting the free agent market while teams still had money to spend.

Owner Larry Miller said, long-term, the Jazz could benefit from not having to pay Fisher when Williams comes due for a major contract extension next summer.