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Houston Rockets General Manager Carroll Dawson announced today that the team has acquired guard Gerald Fitch from the Miami Heat in exchange for guard/forward Derek Anderson.

Fitch (6-3, Kentucky) is in his rookie season in the NBA, averaging 4.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 18 games (one start) with Miami. He was signed by the Heat as a free agent on Aug. 12, 2005, but was waived by Miami on Oct. 31. The Heat later re-signed Fitch on Nov. 18, as he saw his first action with Miami vs. Portland (11/23). Fitch posted a career-high 15 points vs. Atlanta (12/20), and dished out a career-best six assists at Phoenix (1/6). In his lone start of the season at Utah (1/14), Fitch recorded 10 points, four assists and one rebound in a 100-94 win over the Jazz. Fitch also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds and scored six points in a season-high 26:27 of action at Charlotte (1/27). He also played five contests with the Washington Wizards in the 2005 Reebok Vegas Summer League.

Not drafted into the NBA out of college, Fitch was signed by Washington as a free agent on Oct. 1, 2004, but was waived by the Wizards prior to the regular season on Oct. 30. He spent the majority of the 2004-05 season in Europe, splitting time between KK Cibona VIP Zagreb (Euroleague/Adriatic League) and Khimik-OPZ Yuzny (Ukraine Superleague). Fitch also appeared in two games with Washington at the 2004 Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando.

As a collegian, Fitch played four years at the University of Kentucky, averaging 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 127 games (107 starts). He finished his career as the 22nd all-time scorer at Kentucky with 1,391 career points. Fitch also ranked fourth on UK’s all-time list for 3-point field goals made (199). He was named First Team All-SEC by the league’s coaches as a senior, averaging 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

Anderson (6-5, Kentucky) signed as a free agent with Houston on Aug. 23, 2005, after playing in eight NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 20 games (eight starts) with the Rockets in 2005-06. Anderson recorded his first 20-point game with Houston at Miami (11/10). The former Kentucky standout also led the team with 23 points off the bench vs. Phoenix (11/23), adding a season-best nine rebounds. He also had a season-high six assists vs. Memphis (12/3). Anderson missed a total of 29 games (12/15/05-2/8/06) with a right calf strain, and had not played in a game with the Rockets since at Golden State (12/14).