After being traded by the Los Angeles Lakers for forward Jordan Hill before the NBA trade deadline back in March, five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher was thought to be seriously considering retirement after agreeing to a buyout with the Houston Rockets. Even though Fisher’s future was up in the air after the buyout, the veteran point guard received a few intriguing offers from title contenders around the league to sign as a backup.
It was reported yesterday by LakersNation.com that Fisher was considering signing with the eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, but ultimately decided to join the Oklahoma City Thunder for a bigger role off the bench and a $2.3 million deal for the rest of the season. Not only was Fisher given an opportunity to play for arguably the best team in the Western Conference, but he would also get a legitimate shot to win his sixth NBA title before calling it a career.
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With Fisher potentially winning his sixth ring with Oklahoma City, the consensus is that he’d retire after this season. Apparently, retirement is far from Fisher’s mind at this point in time with the veteran floor general saying that he will play next season via the New York Post:
“I’ve always tried my best as I approach free agent summers to not really think a lot about it until I’m there, especially at this point when so much is at stake,” Fisher told the New York Post. “I can’t accurately answer that question. I don’t know where I’ll be emotionally after this series is over. But my plan is for sure to play after this season. I’m not going to retire after this year. I feel great physically and definitely looking forward to playing after these two weeks.”
Unfortunately, a reunion with the Lakers is unlikely. With the rules in the CBA preventing traded players from returning to their former teams in the same calendar year, Fisher won’t be able to sign with Los Angeles until March 2013. Lamar Odom also falls into this category as he will be unable to sign with the Lakers until Dec. 11.
Obviously, Fisher won’t be waiting around until next March to sign with the Lakers only to take a backup role behind Ramon Sessions or possibly Deron Williams.
A few teams that might be interested in signing Fisher to a one-year deal over the summer are the Thunder, Heat and the New York Knicks.
