Don’t Call it a comeback.
After a successful 18-year NBA playing career, in which Derek Fisher played alongside some of the greatest players in the history of the game and won 5 titles doing so, Fisher took the next logical step in his NBA life. He became a head coach. Not just any NBA coach. He was hired, via a multi-year contract, by Knicks president Phil Jackson to take the reins of the franchise and lead it in a new direction.
That lasted all but a year-and-a-half. Fisher, who was believed to be one of the smartest players in the league but had no coaching experience whatsoever, was fired by Jackson–who’d coached Fisher to all 5 of his NBA Championships during his Lakers days–in February of this year. Fisher’s inability to steady the Knicks offense and his off-court troubles–he got into an alleged physical altercation with current player Matt Barnes over their relationship with a woman–made him somewhat of a dark horse in the wake of his firing. Of the multiple NBA teams who desperately needed a new head coach this off-season, none of them went knocking on Fisher’s door.
So, it appears that Fisher will try to be a player once more. In an Facebook video posted Tuesday evening of Fisher performing a work-out routine, Fisher added the caption: “Imnotdoneyet.”
In addition, ESPN is reporting that sources close to Fisher have confirmed his interest in once again competing at a professional level.
Fisher last played with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2013-2014 season as the team’s second-string point guard, and posted per game averages of 5.2 points and 1.4 assists, but he did shoot a more-than-respectable 38.4% from the three-point line, which is just shy of his career mark of 39.9%. Could Fisher seriously be suiting up for another go? Maybe try to hit the 20-year mark? Granted he’s able to return to playing shape, there are several young NBA teams that could probably benefit from Fisher’s veteran experience. The Timberwolves, Sixers and Bucks, for example.
