SB Nation Houston - Derek Fisher Reportedly Reaches Buyout Agreement With Houston Rockets

Derek Fisher Bought Out By Rockets; LeBron James Chimes In

2012-03-19T22:56:02Z

Now that Derek Fisher is officially a free agent after being bought out by the Rockets, the next question is if and where he will resume his NBA career.

One team that may be in need of a veteran guard is the Miami Heat, and star forward LeBron James was asked about the possibility of adding Fisher on Monday, "One thing you know about Derek Fisher is that he's a winner; he's not afraid of the moment and he's won multiple championships. I don't know what our plans are but I don't see it as a bad fit it if happens. What we have we're comfortable with, but he could fit anyone's team because of his leadership and his commitment to winning."

Fisher, a 15-year NBA veteran, was struggling through one of his worst seasons in his career with the Lakers, averaging just 5.9 points per game on 38.3 percent shooting in 2011-2012. He's a respected veteran league-wide, and played an active role in helping to settle the labor dispute that led to the NBA lockout during this past offseason.

For up-to-date information on the Rockets, check out The Dream Shake and for more on the NBA head on over to SB Nation's NBA hub.

Derek Fisher Needs To See 'If Heart Is Still In It' To Play In NBA

2012-03-19T00:23:58Z

Derek Fisher who was acquired by the Houston Rockets from the Los Angeles Lakers and then was subsequently bought out is not sure what is future holds. TNT's David Aldridge is reporting that Fisher is not sure what his future holds:

Source tells me Derek Fisher not sure what the next move after buyout, has to see if his "heart is still in it." Hopes to clear waivers Wed.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) March 19, 2012

Fisher is a 15-year NBA veteran who prior being traded to the Rockets had started every game for the Los Angeles Lakers, so there should be some interest from contending teams who want a reliable veteran player. However, being in the league for 15 years maybe Fisher will decide to hang it up if he is not into the game anymore.

For up-to-date information on the Rockets, check out The Dream Shake and for more on the NBA head on over to SB Nation's NBA hub.

Derek Fisher Reportedly Reaches Buyout Agreement With Houston Rockets

2012-03-18T21:17:29Z

The move that was predicted a couple of days ago has now come through with the report from Adrian Wojnarowski that Derek Fisher has reached a buyout agreement with the Houston Rockets. His surprising trade to the resulted in the Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen predicting this would happen, but it took a few days to come to fruition. Now Fisher should have his freedom.

Yahoo! Sports’ Wojnarowski writes, “Fisher will likely have a deal with a contender soon. A new rule in the collective bargaining agreement doesn’t allow him to get bought out after a trade and re-sign with the Lakers this season. Fisher had a $3.4 million player option on his 2012-13 contract.”

Fisher is a 15-year NBA veteran who had started every game this season for the L.A. Lakers before the trade. Is it possible he goes back to Los Angeles? Expect something to happen soon enough as teams try to bolster their roster for the stretch run before the playoffs.

For up-to-date information on the Rockets, check out The Dream Shake.

NBA Trade Deadline: Rockets Waive Terrence Williams, Expected To Buy Out Derek Fisher Contract

2012-03-16T17:49:10Z

The Houston Rockets have cut ties with guard Terrence Williams, according to a report by Jonathan Feigen. This is a move that seemed to be a long-time coming, considering Williams' struggles to fit into the Rockets system both on and off the floor. Williams averaged just 4.5 points in a limited 15.1 minutes a game this season.

Rockets waive Terrence Williams.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 16, 2012

Feigen also reported that Derek Fisher may never play a game in a Rockets uniform, as his contracted is expected to be bought out by the team. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey would not even speak on the Fisher situation, according to Feigen.

Morey will not address Derek Fisher. Expect buyout.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 16, 2012

For more on the Houston Rockets, visit SB Nation Houston and The Dream Shake blog. To stay updated on the moves the Rockets are making, follow our stream here.

NBA Trade Deadline: Reactions On Houston's Deals Positive

2012-03-16T11:00:43Z

Nothing too flashy, mind you, but in general the reviews of Daryl Morey's trade deadline work was positive. It helps that no true superstar got moved to any team, so the bar was set pretty low. Still, let's run through some reactions around the web. This first one is from Tom Martin over at The Dream Shake:

The Rockets knew that if they got anything back for impending free agents Jordan Hill, Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet, that'd be a victory in itself. Not only did Houston pick up a first rounder for Hill — they also added a temporary solution at backup point guard while Kyle Lowry heals up. ... In addition to dropping one 09er, Morey swung a winner by selling Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet'sexpiring deals to Portland in exchange for aging center Marcus Camby.

This comes from a summary post of John Hollinger's reaction column over at ESPN done by Hoops Rumors:

Hollinger praises the Blazers' rebuilding effort in the Gerald Wallace trade, although he has reservations about the players they got back from Houston for Marcus Camby.

Hollinger likes the Rockets' acquisition of Camby as a short-term pick-up to help them make a playoff run.

Yeah, you generally don't sell a player for two guys who never see the light of playing time and NOT get mocked a little. If Portland thinks that Flynn and Thabeet are part of a rebuilding effort, they're in for a rude awakening.

Meanwhile, here's the GMs reaction to the Camby addition, per Jonathan Feigen:

"We’re very, very excited to add Marcus Camby," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "Shoring up our rotation for the stretch run and the playoffs was important to us. Marcus is a player who people are familiar with but might not know how effective he still is. One of the top rebounders in the league, defensive rebounding at an elite level. When he plays, he anchors a very strong defense for Portland. We think he’ll add to our ability to win games."

Feigen goes on to mention that Houston may sign former Raptors guard Anthony Carter and buy Fisher out. He adds that Houston was in on the Gerald Wallace deal, but couldn't get it done and that they checked on Andrew Bogut, but that Milwaukee chose Golden State's deal over theirs.

Oh, and the biggest news? Houston was in "intense talks" about Dwight Howard, only to have that shut down when he signed his deal to opt-in for the rest of his contract. Oh, well...

For more Rockets trade rumors, check out our StoryStream here. For more on the NBA trade deadline, check out SB Nation's NBA Trade Rumors StoryStream. For up-to-date information on the Rockets, check out The Dream Shake.

NBA Trade Deadline: Analyzing What The Houston Rockets Pulled Off

2012-03-15T19:35:47Z

It took them up until the trade deadline, but the Houston Rockets made a couple of nice, low-level moves on Thursday. In the earlier of the deals, Houston sent Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet (both the dregs of Houston's rotation) to Portland along with a second-round pick for 37-year old center Marcus Camby.

Then, just before time expired, Houston finally struck a deal with the Lakers. It wasn't for Pau Gasol, but the Rockets did get a player in Derek Fisher plus Dallas' first-round pick for Jordan Hill.

Let's analyze the second deal first, because it's probably going to be the one which gets most criticized around the interwebs. Houston needed a point guard to back up Goran Dragic until Kyle Lowry returns from his recent illness that could keep him out 2-4 weeks. They also wanted to pick up another first-round pick and were basically offering their whole roster to get one.

So, from that perspective, Houston was happy to pick up a first-round pick for Jordan Hill. That the Lakers threw in Fisher just gave Houston an answer at PG AND gave them experience late in games for that playoff run. It's a little like when Mark Jackson was the backup point guard for Houston under Jeff Van Gundy, but really functioned almost as another coach on the team while playing hardly any minutes.

The only problem with Fisher coming to Houston is his contract. He'll be owed another $3.4 million next season. It's not huge money, and they could still cut him when Lowry comes back, but it's not the neatest decision out there.

Why did Houston want to trade Jordan Hill? Let's go back to that first deal.

In picking up Marcus Camby, Houston got one of the main things Kevin McHale wants: a defensive stopper. Camby isn't the kind of offensive player who can start or make a huge impact. But, he's a ferocious rebounder and can bring the same kind of rim defense that Samuel Dalembert offers. So, there's not much of a dropoff when Dalembert leaves the game.

With Camby coming to town and probably fitting into the rotation as Dalembert's backup, that made Hill replaceable. Since he's tall, someone would take a shot at him and that someone turned out to be L.A.

So, Houston shored up its interior defense and rebounding while adding a backup point guard and another draft pick in what should be a loaded draft. That gives Houston two potential first-rounders to play around with and try to make an actual impact trade this summer.

Can these guys put Houston over the top in the playoffs? That'll be the biggest question, but we've got a little while before that needs answering. If anything, the addition of Camby means Houston's front like has a much better shot at banging with Memphis or OKC than it did before.

NBA Trade Deadline: Rockets Acquire Derek Fisher, No. 1 Pick For Jordan Hill

2012-03-15T19:14:19Z

The Houston Rockets continued an extremely active trade deadline shopping spree Thursday, acquiring Derek Fisher and a first-round pick from the LA Lakers for Jordan Hill:

Let's fix this: The Lakers have traded Derek Fisher and a 2012 first-round pick (via Dallas) for Jordan Hill, league sources tell Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) March 15, 2012

While Fisher is the big name in the trade, it's likely Houston's real interest was in the first-round pick, which the Lakers acquired from the Dallas Mavericks as a part of the Lamar Odom deal.

The Rockets were rumored to be shopping for first-rounders to take advantage of the 2012 draft, widely considered the deepest class of prospects since 2008 if not 2003.

Hill, a 2009 lottery pick of the New York Knicks, has never developed his game to match his athletic ability at 6'10 235, and he was made expendable by the acquisition of Marcus Camby earlier on Thursday.

Fisher, the president of the NBA Player's Association who helped win five championships in his time in LA, is one of the most respected players in the league, but at the age of 37, he's unlikely to get many minutes in Houston behind Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic.

NBA Trade Rumors: Blazers Trade Marcus Camby To Rockets

2012-03-15T18:34:29Z

That's the word right now out of Yahoo! Sports. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet are heading to Portland.

Camby, 37, has been in the league for 15 seasons. This year with Portland, the 6-foot-11 center has averaged 3.8 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 1.4 blocks per game. Camby hasn't averaged more than 10 ppg since the 2008-2009 season, but he has a knack for pulling down boards on the defensive end and blocking shots.

Considering Houston can use both of those things, he should be a welcome addition and will most likely replace Jordan Hill as Samuel Dalembert's backup. Camby is in the final year of a two-year extension he signed with Portland in 2010. He should make a little over $11 million this season, so Houston should be on the hook for about half of that.

Houston will not miss either Flynn nor Thabeet and Camby might make a nice veteran presence for the playoff push. Considering Houston has had varying levels of interest in Camby for what seems like a decade, it's interesting that he's finally on the team.