Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

In a move made to shore up the teams depth at the point guard position, the Dallas Mavericks will indeed be signing 17-year veteran and 5-time NBA champion Derek Fisher to a deal.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/273994644570914816″]

According to Dan Loumena of the Los Angeles Times, head coach Rick Carlisle claims the team desperately needs Fisher, considering the current injuries the Mavericks have at the position.

We need help at point guard…I found out…that [Darren] Collison would be out, and we were fortunate to get [Jared] Cunningham active. We feel [Fisher] can help us. It’s not a cure-all to all of our team challenges, but his expertise and experience will help.

Derek Fisher spent the end of last season as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder after being traded to the Houston Rockets in a deal for Jordan Hill back in March. The Rockets immediately released him. For Oklahoma City, Fisher averaged 4.9 points and 1.4 assists in 20 regular season games.

GRADE THE DEAL: C +



At the ripe age of 38 and playing at a position dominated by younger, quicker guards, it’s hard to imagine what kind of significant impact (if any) Fisher can have on the court for the Dallas Mavericks.

It just goes to show how banged up the Mavs are at the moment.

According to ESPN Dallas, regular starting guard Darren Collision (who saw his numbers drop to 10.4 points and 5.6 assists over his last five games) is out with a sprained right middle finger, while rookie Jared Cunningham is just returning from a sprained right thumb.

The Mavericks are also getting little to no consistency out of third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who is averaging just 4.5 points and 2.4 assists a game.

This signing does smell of desperation though.

It’s still fresh in the minds of Mavericks fans the last time the team brought in a former Los Angeles Laker to their roster and wonderful that turned out.

Fisher can step into the starting line-up right away with Collison out and provide Dallas some spot minutes at the point guard position.

He is not however a long-term solution.

What he will bring though, which is a tremendous asset, is his veteran leadership and years of experience. The Mavericks won an NBA championship in 2011 on the backs of its older players. This is nothing new to the franchise.

Derek is very much past his prime on the court, but what he can offer to this locker room and to the younger players on the roster is invaluable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_l8rlLB8UU

Christopher Walder is the Lead Editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You can follow him on Twitter @WALDERSPORTS