Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher signs for Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA Update
The Oklahoma City Thunder have completed the signing of veteran guard Derek Fisher. Fisher was available as a free agent after having bought out his contract with the Houston Rockets.
Derek Fisher had flirted with the idea of signing with the Miami Heat; with super star LeBron James earlier commenting that Fisher would be a good fit for the Eastern Conference giants. Recently however the Thunder emerged as strong contenders for his signature
and reports suggested that the side were in advanced negotiations with the guard.
Thunder star Kevin Durant just recently threw his weight behind signing Fisher, and the experienced player has now inked a contract with OKC.
Fisher revealed that he wanted to be part of a title challenge and at Oklahoma City, who are at the top of the Western Conference at the moment, he saw great potential. Derek remarked that he would do his all to help the team more forward.
"Right now, they sit on top of the Western Conference and I'm just hopeful that the things that I do, the things that I've always brought to every team I've ever played on, can be the right mix to help these guys continue to do whatever it is that they're
already doing," Fisher said.
Fisher has been a long time servant to OKC’s divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. He won five NBA World Championships whilst at the franchise, but was traded away to Houston at the deadline this season.
The Lakers have decided to move in a new direction, having brought in the speedy Ramon Sessions to play point guard instead of Fisher, who is getting older and slower with each passing day.
He still wasn’t expecting to be moved, but declined from commenting at depth on the trade situation.
"I think that I was surprised by it, but since then I've very much realized that it's not so much about what went wrong and why it happened but more so where I'm going next and the next chapter of my life," Fisher said.
He made it known to the Houston Rockets that he didn’t want to be part of a rebuilding project at this stage in his career. The Rockets had hoped Fisher would play a guiding role for their young roster, but understood the player’s concerns and negotiated
a buyout.
Their loss was Oklahoma City’s gain. OKC have a side full of exceptionally talented young players and having someone with experience of winning the biggest prize to guide them in the future was just too tempting a proposition.
"He has winner all over his DNA," Scott Brooks, OKC head coach, said. "You can never have enough winners in your locker room, and we have a locker room full of them."
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