But Fisher will seek the full mid-level exception of five years and about $30 million, Bartelstein said, which might be too much for the Lakers, who must spend their main free-agent tool wisely.
Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak declined to talk about specific negotiations with Fisher, but the fact Fisher left behind almost $21 million in guaranteed money did not escape him.
"That's the unprecedented part about this, is that there's a person out there that would do that," Kupchak said. "I'm not surprised that that's Derek Fisher."
Despite turning 33 next month, Fisher showed few signs of slowing down last season.
He averaged 10.1 points, 3.3 assists and 27.9 minutes, marks that were higher than his totals during the 2003-04 season, his last with the Lakers. He averaged 7.1 points, 2.1 assists and 21.6 minutes that season before signing a six-year, $36-million free-agent contract with Golden State.
For now, the Lakers have only three ballhandling guards on their roster — Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Crittenton.
The Lakers are a little uneasy with Steve Blake asking for the full mid-level exception. Another backcourt option is Greek guard Theo Papaloukas, although the Lakers have downplayed that possibility since a Greek newspaper reported last week that Papaloukas had been offered a contract by them.
