What Derek Fisher Brings to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder recently signed veteran point guard Derek Fisher.

Fisher has won five NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and could make a huge impact on the Thunder, who have come under criticism at times.

The criticism is that Russell Westbrook has not been distributing the ball properly to Kevin Durant in games. This is a heated, two-sided debate that has gone on for years.

While Westbrook may not be able to distribute the ball effectively at times, Fisher should be able to make up for that.

Fisher can provide a spark when he is in the game and create more chances for Durant, who has led the NBA in scoring for three consecutive years.

Having Fisher on the roster allows Westbrook to be pulled from the game if he drives the team down by shooting and missing too often. In this situation, Fisher can come in and create scoring chances for players.

I wrote previously that the one piece the Thunder was missing is a pass-first point guard who can find the right players and get them the ball when they’re open. Fisher is this type of player. Not only can Fisher run the offense and lead the team as a distributor, but he can also shoot three pointers and give the team an additional threat from beyond the arc.

He should be able to tide the team over until it can get a young pass-first point guard to lead the offense. Westbrook is more suited to be a two guard in my opinion.

By himself, Fisher is not enough to propel the Thunder to a championship, but he will bring experience and leadership to a young team. He is much older than he was when he was a champion but should be able to help get Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook more open looks, while knocking down a three every now and then.

Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeAtkinsonRS.