4:15pm: Evans says Fisher did not participate in a conference call the committee set up to give Fisher and Hunter a chance to share their sides of the story following the audit request, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Evans is upset the union's business has gone public, and says that Fisher has not been absent from many union activities of late.
4:03pm: Derek Fisher remains committed to staying as president of the National Basketball Players Association, even as the NBPA executive committee has voted 8-0 to ask for his resignation. Still, Fisher's opponents seem to have a replacement already lined up, as Maurice Evans tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that he believes fellow committee member Chris Paul will be the next president.
“He played an intricate role during the lockout and throughout the negotiations," Evans said of Paul. "He has the confidence of a lot of guys on the board and around the NBA. Going forward, we believe that he would do a great job. That has yet to be determined or voted on and we’ll address those matters down the road. For now, we’ll continue to support every member of the executive committee and value every member’s opinions.”
It's unclear what must happen for Fisher to be removed from his post. SI.com's Sam Amick says union bylaws are unclear on whether Fisher can be forced out if he refuses to go. Kennedy writes that Fisher may reconsider if the 30 team representatives join the executive committee in calling for him to resign, but as we heard yesterday, not all the player reps oppose Fisher.
The controversy was stirred earlier in the week when Fisher called for an audit of the union's finances. According to Evans, Fisher alleged that executive director Billy Hunter engaged in misappropriation of funds, poorly handled decisions during the lockout, and allowed nepotism take hold in the union office. Three members of Hunter's family work in some capacity for the union, while a fourth was used as outside counsel during the lockout, Amick reports.
A routine financial audit in February found no issues, Kennedy writes, and Evans rejects the notion that the committee is standing in the way of transparency, calling for the union to move forward with its business. There have been allegations that Fisher worked out a deal on the side between himself and the league during the lockout, and though Evans said some of Fisher's actions have been questionable, he wouldn't specifically confirm claims of a side deal, according to Kennedy.