Free agent Fisher pays a visit to Seattle

Free agent point guard Derek Fisher visited with the Seattle SuperSonics on Monday, though it did not seem probable that Fisher procured a contract offer.

Fisher, who has spent the past eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, flew into Seattle on Sunday night, spent the day Monday with Sonics management and then had dinner with various members of the organization Monday night.

The Sonics have said they want to add a perimeter defender, and with Bruce Bowen and Stephen Jackson gone in free agency, Fisher remains the top free agent available.

The Sonics are able to offer all or part of their mid-level exception, which should be about $5.4 million. Fisher likely is seeking all of that, though there is some question whether the Sonics want to spend their entire exception on one player.

One possibility, according to a team source, is trading Antonio Daniels, who is said to be the object of interest because of his relatively inexpensive $2 million salary. If Daniels is traded, it could free up money for Fisher.

If not, adding Fisher presents a problem in that he would be the fifth guard on a team that had too many guards last season.

However, Sonics coach Nate McMillan has been adamant that he wants a perimeter defender who can set a defensive tone that will carry through the rest of the team.

The oddity of Fisher visiting Seattle is that he was replaced in the Lakers’ starting lineup by former Sonics guard Gary Payton, even though Fisher was the point guard for all of the Lakers’ three recent championship teams.

Payton became disgruntled last season because Fisher took the bulk of the minutes in the fourth quarters because he played better on-the-ball defense than Payton.

In eight seasons in Los Angeles, Fisher has averaged 7.4 points, 3.0 assists and 1.03 steals.