Derek Fisher Replaced by Chris Paul as the New President of NBA Players Union
Chris Paul has been named the president of NBA Players Union.
Derek Fisher is to be replaced by Chris Paul as the president of NBA Players Union. The union has been embittered with turmoil recently, so this added star power at the top is much needed.
Derek Fisher is voted by NBA player representatives six months after the union removed Billy Hunter as executive director following more than a year and half of bickering and drama during the negotiations for the latest collective bargaining arrangement. Hunter countered with a wrongful-termination lawsuit in May and claimed that Fisher had conspired with NBA officials during the 2011 lockout. As of now, the position is still vacant.
With Paul replacing Derek Fisher, Paul asserted that "It's not about me as president or the first vice president, it's about the players as a whole." Paul may be a good fit and an asset because of his ability to get everyone involved and make his teammates feel good with themselves. This ability can improve the union. After the lockout ended and the lawsuits started to take hold, many players and observers came to feel and perceive that putting a big name in the big chair would help galvanise the group and motivate the star players to start participating again.
Paul, who is a six-time All-Star and considered the best point guard in the league, is the first big star to acquire this top position since Patrick Ewing's term ended in 2001. This is a big thing, although not mandated. "That wasn't a requirement, but I think it gives us a little more oomph, I guess, having somebody like him wanting to step up and take on that role," Charlotte Bobcats told Anthony Tolliver in a phone interview. "It means a lot."