Derek Fisher will never wear a Houston Rockets uniform.
Fran Blinebury of NBA.com is reporting that the Rockets will buy out the remainder of Fisher’s contract (he has a player option worth $3.4 million), making him a free agent and allowing him to sign with the team of his choice — as long as it is not the Los Angeles Lakers.
Under new collective bargaining rules (insiders call this one the Ilgauskas rule), a player cannot be re-signed by a team that traded him until after July 1.
That means there are 28 teams who may want to take a flyer of a veteran leader who has been known to hit a big shot late in games from time to time.
A buyout would need to be completed by March 23 in order for Fisher to remain playoff-eligible.
For now, the Rockets are probably going to have to press Courtney Lee into service as the backup point behind Goran Dragic at the point. Kyle Lowry is out with a bacterial infection, and Johnny Flynn was dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Hasheem Thabeet for Marcus Camby.
The Rockets also waived shooting guard Terrence Williams after he missed the team’s morning walkthrough Wednesday.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle said the Rockets have spoken to the agent for veteran point guard Anthony Carter, who was waived by the Toronto Raptors on Thursday but won’t become available – other than through a waiver claim — until Monday.