The Oklahoma City Thunder, fresh off a 30-point thrashing of the Chicago Bulls last night have reached an agreement to bring in veteran point guard Derek Fisher for his second stint with the team, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Fisher joined the Thunder last season after the Lakers traded him to the Houston Rockets who then released him, averaging four points and 1.5 assists in 20 minutes a game backing up Russell Westbrook. Early this season, Fisher played for the Dallas Mavericks and averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 assists per game in a bigger role before a knee injury derailed him after nine games. Fisher asked for his release so he could spend time with his family.
In addition to playing, Fisher is the current president of the National Basketball Players Association, which just removed Billy Hunter as executive director. Hunter was removed by a unanimous 24-0 vote by the players and Fisher was quoted at the time saying, "We will no longer be divided, misled, misinformed. This is our union. We're taking it back." The Daily News reported that Hunter had been abusing his power, using his position to give family members business, allegations Hunter has denied. After last season's lockout, during which Hunter was criticized for poor leadership, he made $3 million in salary after a shortened 66-game season was completed, which represented a 25 percent increase from the previous year according to the Bloomberg news service.
The Thunder reached the Finals last season with Fisher in the fold and he had several big moments along the journey. Fisher averaged six points and slightly more than one assist per game in 20 playoff games with Oklahoma City. Reggie Jackson has been the top reserve point guard for the Thunder this year, but the team dealt third guard Eric Maynor to the Portland Trailblazers at the trade deadline for a $2.3 million trade exception. Maynor was averaging 10 minutes per game for the Thunder.
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