Derek Fisher's Playoff Legacy Would Make OKC Thunder NBA Finals Favorites
Derek Fisher is in "advanced negotiations" to sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder according to ESPN.com. For the Thunder, Fisher's presence on the team could not be measured by what he brings statistically. His experience as five-time NBA Champion brings far more to the game.
The Oklahoman reports,
"The Thunder is believed to be interested in Fisher, but with Oklahoma City's roster standing at the league maximum of 15 players the team would need to waive someone before reaching a deal. The Thunder also must decide if its current trio of point guards, Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson and Royal Ivey, is stable enough to help the team win a championship this season.
The team has shown confidence in shooting guard James Harden also manning the point guard position in certain situations.
“We'll see,” (Kevin) Durant said. “We have a great corps of point guards leading off with Russ and then Reggie and Royal. But adding another guy that can come in and give us some good minutes here and there and bring his leadership and winning plays here would be cool. But it's one of those things that you really don't know too much about. We got to just see what happens. (Fisher) is a Thunder guy as far as character and off the court is concerned. But we'll see what happens.”
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Durant has it right. This goes far beyond the numbers, or even the court time. It's the locker room where Fisher brings the most to the game for the Thunder. Leadership and winnings plays go a long way, especially the leadership.
When Russ Westbrook starts getting out of control, who better to take him aside and settle him down? Who better to teach him how to take a backseat to a superstar?
When the Thunder fall behind in a series, who better to have in the locker room to help the team navigate through the trials? Only three players in NBA history, Robert Horry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal have played more postseason games.
Fisher was never a "great" player. At best he was briefly a "good" player, but he's always been an intelligent player. He's always been a leader. He's always been a class act.
Of course if the game is on the line it doesn't hurt to have the player with the 18th greatest moment in playoff history on your team either. Those are the "winning plays" that Durant was talking about.
More because of the intangibles he brings than anything else, he helps the Thunder simply with his presence. His addition would make the Thunder even more the favorites than they already are to get to the NBA Finals.
