Thunder re-sign Fisher

Point guard Derek Fisher (37), who played for Oklahoma City during last season’s run to the NBA Finals, was re-signed by the Thunder on Monday after Eric Maynor got traded to Portland.
Point guard Derek Fisher (37), who played for Oklahoma City during last season’s run to the NBA Finals, was re-signed by the Thunder on Monday after Eric Maynor got traded to Portland.

— The Oklahoma City Thunder announced Monday that they have signed five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher again.

General Manager Sam Presti didn’t disclose financial terms or the length of the deal. Yahoo! reported that the contract will last the remainder of the season, without giving financial details.

Fisher (Little Rock Parkview, UALR), 38, hasn’t played an NBA game since his release by the Dallas Mavericks in December. He played in 40 games for the Thunder last season, including the team’s run to the NBA Finals.

Fisher, who averaged 6.3 points in 1.3 assists in 20 playoff games last year, was viewed as a key locker room presence by Thunder Coach Scott Brooks and fills a need after Oklahoma City, which has the second-best record (41-15) in the Western Conference, traded its third point guard, Eric Maynor, to Portland last week.

“Derek Fisher, just being around him, I can tell why he’s loved by so many people and why the Lakers won so many championships,” Brooks said last October. “He puts everything he has into every possession, every practice and every game. In our practices, he is 37 and he did everything we asked, every drill and every possession. He practices every day. It was great. I don’t think we could’ve gone as far as we did without him. I thought he was terrific and I love him. I really have a lot of respect for him.”

Reggie Jackson, who is averaging 4.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists this year, is receiving most of the backup minutes behind Russell Westbrook.

A member of five title-winning teams with the Los Angeles Lakers, Fisher has averaged 8.6 points and 2.5 assists in 229 playoff games.

He averaged 8.6 points and 3.6 assists in a little more than 25 minutes per game in his nine-game stint with Dallas, but asked for his release while recovering from a knee injury, “so I can return home.”

Fisher said at the time that he wouldn’t “close the possibility that I will play again; however, for now my family and being close to them remains the priority.”

Fisher has been involved since his release with the National Basketball Players Association’s firing of Executive Director Billy Hunter this month after an investigation of the organization’s business and hiring practices Fisher instigated. Fisher retained his title of president under the NBPA’s new executive committee after some players, including Jerry Stackhouse of the Brooklyn Nets, said he also should be replaced.

Sports, Pages 17 on 02/26/2013

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