Derek Fisher: Lakers fans not loving LeBron's tenure is 'confusing'

Over the last couple of weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers have been making what has thus far been a quick and painless transition from the LeBron James era to the true start of the Luka Doncic era. James officially decided to leave the Lakers in free agency on June 30, and the team moved swiftly to trade for center Walker Kessler and nab guards Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton, big man Sandro Mamukelashvili and center Kevon Looney in free agency.

There are quite a few Lakers fans who have been doing back flips ever since James decided to bid farewell to the Purple and Gold. It may be a breath of fresh air in some ways for the franchise, but the 41-year-old did play eight years for it and make it relevant again upon his arrival in 2018, not to mention leading it to the NBA championship in 2020.

Derek Fisher, who won five NBA titles alongside Kobe Bryant, told Yahoo Sports Daily that he doesn't understand why Lakers fans don't appreciate James' time with the team more than they do.

“A lot of people in L.A. didn’t love LeBron’s time here and it’s been confusing to me,” Fisher said. “The reaction to him deciding not to return to L.A., a lot of people have celebrated it and almost had a parade as though this is the greatest thing ever. I’m not saying this is doomsday for the Lakers by any means. I think the organization will be fine, it’s been here for 80 years, it’ll be fine. But, I’m surprised at the reaction for sure and yeah, I think people have moved on, a lot of fans have.”

Fisher was then asked why fans didn't embrace James the way they embraced previous Lakers greats.

“That’s a great question,” he said. “You think about the greats of Lakers' past, many of those guys were kind of born and raised as Lakers for the most part. You think about James Worthy -- No. 1 draft pick. You think about Magic Johnson, even though Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], formerly Lew Alcindor, was traded to L.A., he spent a considerable amount of time here in Los Angeles and really felt like a piece of the fabric of L.A. And so many greats, even Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal), eight years here and it’s like people forgot he played in Orlando as well. But it’s the years here in L.A. that changed everything. Obviously, Kobe being here for 20 seasons. I think other stars felt more like they became who they were as Lakers and I think a lot of Lakers fans had a difficult time receiving the fact that LeBron was already LeBron before he got here.”

Unlike the legends Fisher mentioned, James came to Los Angeles late in his career. He already had a full body of work at that time, and there was even a perception among some fans that he was infringing on Bryant's territory, although Bryant gave his blessing for James to take the franchise torch.

The four-time MVP averaged 25.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.9 assists during his time with the Lakers in the regular season, as well as 25.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game in six postseason appearances with L.A. He may have enhanced his legacy during that time simply by continuing to play at his usual level into his 40s and establishing the greatest longevity of any NBA player ever.

It is anyone's guess which team James will suit up with this fall. But even if plenty of Lakers fans won't want to admit it, he made his mark on the storied team's history.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Derek Fisher: Lakers fans not loving LeBron's tenure is 'confusing'