Knicks coach Derek Fisher is involved in a romantic relationship with the estranged wife of his former teammate Matt Barnes — and when Barnes found out over the weekend, he allegedly attacked Fisher, sources tell Page Six.
Sources said Fisher was at the LA home of Gloria Govan — Barnes’ estranged wife, who stars on “Basketball Wives LA” — on Saturday. Fisher and Govan have been dating for “a few months,” a source said, after Fisher filed to divorce his wife of 10 years, Candace, in March.
But when Barnes learned that Fisher was at his former home with Gloria, he drove 95 miles to LA to “beat the s–t” out of Fisher, sources said.
“Derek was in Gloria’s back yard with about 10 people having a bonfire on Saturday,” said a source. “Derek’s separated from his wife and there’s a relationship with [Gloria].”
The source added, “Barnes was in Santa Barbara [at Memphis Grizzlies training camp] and heard that Fisher was in his house. He went crazy. He got in his car and went to the house and went after Fisher.”
Another source said, “Someone told Matt that Fisher was at the house and he drove down there — he went over to confront Derek.”
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Barnes and Fisher as Lakers teammates in 2011.Photo: Getty Imagews
A source close to Fisher confirmed the fight but said, “Matt came after Derek but he only had a few scratches … Derek’s not going to press charges, he’s going to let it go.”
Fisher left the scene before cops arrived, and we hear that Govan’s planning to file a restraining order.
Another source said that the altercation was the reason Fisher missed Knicks practice on Monday — but others said that he had been traveling back to New York on Sunday and was delayed because of plane trouble. The Knicks tweeted on Monday that Fisher was “not at practice due to personal reasons — expected back tomorrow.” He was in LA visiting his kids.
Barnes — who played with Fisher on the Lakers — made headlines recently when he told TMZ that he and pop star Rihanna were “just past the crush stage,” and Rihanna fired back that she’d never met the player.
Barnes has had trouble with the law in the past: He was arrested in 2010 on suspicion of domestic violence but he disputed the charges, and again in 2012 on a misdemeanor traffic warrant.
Govan said this year of her impending divorce from Barnes: “Matt and I were together for eight years. And I think the course of our relationship is just due to evolution. We’re always gonna be good friends. Obviously we have kids together.”
A Knicks rep declined comment. A Grizzlies rep did not immediately return a call for comment. Govan’s agent, David Arrigotti, had no comment, and her publicist did not immediately return calls.
New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher and Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes had a physical confrontation on Saturday night in Los Angeles, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Fisher had traveled to California on Saturday to visit his children and was visiting the house that Barnes shared with his estranged wife, Gloria, the star of the "Basketball Wives" reality show, sources said.
.Barnes, who had concluded Grizzlies training camp in Santa Barbara, arrived at the house and a physical confrontation ensued on Saturday night, sources said. Barnes has known for "over a month" that Fisher is engaged in a relationship with his estranged wife, a source close to him told Yahoo Sports.
The New York Post first reported the altercation.
Barnes told friends that two people at the house – including a relative of his estranged wife – interceded on Fisher's behalf, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Barnes found Fisher in the backyard with Gloria and family members, and the altercation escalated from there, into the kitchen and then the home's front room, one witness said.
Fisher filed for divorce from his wife in March.
Fisher is considering legal action for the incident, sources said, but had not yet filed any charges.
The Knicks, Grizzlies and NBA security have been made aware of the incident, and are expected to soon start working together on a probe of Saturday night's events. A significant part of the NBA's security department is overseas working closely with the league's preseason games in Europe, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Barnes had been with the Grizzlies at training camp in Santa Barbara, and Fisher had flown to Los Angeles on a Knicks off day over the weekend. Fisher missed the Knicks practice on Monday for what the team termed "a personal matter," but sources said that his failure to return to New York had to do with a malfunction on a private jet.
Fisher and Barnes had been friends as teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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