Derrick Byars Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Williams, Deng, Thompson

January 8th, 2015 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets‘ Deron Williams, who is the subject of trade rumors, will be out indefinitely after an MRI revealed one of his ribs was fractured, Roderick Boone of Newsday reports. “Deron reported some soreness above this area over the weekend and as a result underwent imaging studies on Monday, which were negative,” team physician Riley Williams III said in a statement. “[Wednesday] during the game, he reported a new onset of symptoms below the prior area of soreness. New imaging studies done [Thursday] demonstrated the fracture. There is no timetable for his return.”

Here’s more from the East:

Luol Deng is rumored to be on the trading block, with the Grizzlies a possible suitor, but despite the Heat‘s struggles this season, Deng insists he doesn’t want out of Miami, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel reports. “I’ve had no issues,” Deng said. “My whole thing I’ve been saying this year is we’ve been trying to get it right, fit everybody in. It’s never that I’m unhappy or anything. Just because they’re trade rumors, I’m not the one asking for trades.“
Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida examined a number of potentially available players with whom the Heat could upgrade their roster, including Andray Blatche, Samuel Dalembert, Tyler Johnson, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson.
When informed that the newly acquired Timofey Mozgov would be taking his place in the Cavs‘ starting lineup, Tristan Thompson handled the news like a true team player, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “I’ve come off the bench most of the season,” Thompson said. “Whatever it takes for us to win. [I’ll] come out and join the bench mob again. Bring the energy with myself, Delly [Matthew Dellavedova] and all the other guys so that’s a role that I embrace and I’m trying to be the X-factor.“
One thing that J.R. Smith will miss about being with the Knicks is his friendship with Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Kernan of The New York Post writes. “I was upset that I don’t get to play with my best friend who I’ve played with for the last nine or 10 years,’’ Smith said. “We’ve been together so long and we complemented each other so well from the inside out game. Off the court too, we hung at each other’s houses.”

And-Ones: Carroll, Heat, Humphries, Fernandez

August 14th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Zachary Links

A longer All-Star break just might put the fun back in All-Star weekend, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Each team will have a minimum of seven days between games with the new format, with the majority of the league not resuming play until the Friday after the All-Star Game. However, there is one catch for players. Since the season doesn’t begin any sooner or end any later than usual, there are more back-to-backs in this year’s schedule. Here’s more from around the league..

With some help from Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report Hawks small forward DeMarre Carroll writes that Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce tried to convince the Celtics to sign him in 2011 after a strong summer. “The Celtics got with my agent, Mark Bartelstein, but that didn’t work out. To this day, [Pierce] always tells Danny, ‘I told you DeMarre was going to be good,'” said Carroll.
In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if the Heat could conceivably put together a package for Pacers center Roy Hibbert. Winderman explains that the only players the Heat can put into a trade are Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton, and Shabazz Napier since since every veteran free agent signed this offseason cannot be dealt until December 15th. Of course, there’s no guarantee the two sides could be a match for a deal beyond that date.
Big man Kris Humphries has become a more efficient player and he’s excited to bring his new game to the Wizards, writes Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Hump’s 8.6 PPG and 5.9 RPG aren’t the double-double figures he was posting for the Nets during his best season, but he got those points and boards more efficiently with the C’s as he played just 19.9 minutes per game.
Real Madrid announced that they have extended guard Rudy Fernandez through the 2018 season, according to the ACB League’s official Twitter (translation via Sportando). A report in February indicated that Fernandez had attention from the Thunder and other NBA teams, but Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman recently said that there was nothing between the 29-year-old and OKC.
Former NBA forward Derrick Byars has signed a two-year deal with ACB Baloncesto Sevilla in Spain, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Byars played in two games for the Spurs in 2011/12 and was in training camp with the Grizzlies last season.

Western Notes: Saunders, Meeks, Nuggets

April 13th, 2014 at 8:39am CST by Eddie Scarito

Flip Saunders would make himself the Timberwolves next coach if it was up to him, writes Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. Team owner Glen Taylor wants Saunders to focus on one job because he believes a coach lives in the present and a good manager must think for the future, writes Zgoda. He still could change Taylor’s mind, particularly if he convinces Taylor that his coaching system and style will help keep Kevin Love in Minnesota, opines Zgoda.

D-League Notes: Byars, Karasev, Buycks

March 5th, 2014 at 9:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Derrick Byars has been acquired as a returning player by the Bakersfield Jam, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Byars’ last NBA action came during a call up by the Spurs during the 2011/2012 season. He attended training camp with the Grizzlies this season, and most recently had signed with the Russian club Krasny Oktybr, but left the team prior to ever playing in a game.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Trade Exception, Oden

January 16th, 2014 at 7:36pm CST by Zachary Links

After parting with Israeli’s Maccabi Ashdod, Xavier Silas is returning to the States in hopes of signing with an NBA team, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM. Silas, who went to training camp with the Wizards in October, was an undrafted rookie out of Northern Illinois leading into the lockout and has done quite a bit of traveling for a 25-year-old. Silas apparently went AWOL without notifying his Israeli team, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter). While a stop in the D-League is possible, it’s not planned at the moment, his agent tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Here’s more out of the Southeast Division..

Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) estimates that the Heat will wind up with a $2.2MM trade exception following the three-team deal involving the Warriors and Celtics. The swap saw Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks head to the W’s, Toney Douglas come to Miami, and Joel Anthony, a Heat first-round pick, and 2016 second-round pick go to the Boston.
Good news for Heat fans: Greg Oden says his knees feel fine after seeing a handful of minutes on the NBA hardwood for the first time in more than four years, writes Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Miami inked the former No. 1 overall pick to a one-year deal over the summer.
Former Heat training camp invitee Derrick Byars has reached agreement on a deal with Krasny Oktyabr of the European League, a source told Charania. Byars averaged 5.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in two regular season games with San Antonio in 2012. The 6-foot-7 forward was a second round pick of the Trail Blazers in 2007.

Grizzlies Waive Josh Akognon, Derrick Byars

October 6th, 2013 at 5:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Grizzlies announced that they have waived guard Josh Akognon and forward Derrick Byars. Memphis' roster now stands at 16.

Akognon spent three games with the Mavericks last season and also played for the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters in China, where he averaged 29 points per game. The 27-year-old Cal State Fullerton product was claimed off waivers by Memphis on July 23rd after his minimum-salary contract was waived by Dallas on July 21st.

Byars, a Vanderbilt product, played competed for ALBA Berlin in Germany and Caciques de Humacao in Puerto Rico last season. Memphis signed the 29-year-old as a free agent on Sept. 29th but his stay didn't last too long.

Grizzlies Sign Byars, Ely, Gaffney

September 29th, 2013 at 9:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have officially announced the signings of Derrick Byars, Melvin Ely and Tony Gaffney. It's confirmation of news we heard about Ely and Gaffney earlier this month. Memphis extended a training camp invitation to Byars this week, but it hadn't been clear whether he accepted. The trio of signees brings the Memphis roster to 18.

Byars also drew interest from the Knicks around the same time he worked out for the Grizzlies this month. He was a second-round draft pick of the Blazers in 2007, but Portland traded him to the Sixers on draft night and Philadelphia cut him in training camp that fall. The 6'7" swingman from Vanderbilt has also been to camp with the Thunder, Bulls and Heat over the years, but he only has a pair of games with the Spurs in 2011/12 on his official NBA resume. Last year he split the season between Caciques de Humacao in Puerto Rico and ALBA of Germany.

Byars, Ely and Gaffney are all presumably on non-guaranteed deals with the Grizzlies, as are Josh Akognon and Willie Reed. The team has 13 fully guaranteed contracts, so it's possible that none of the five camp invitees make the opening-night roster, but it seems like the most impressive of the bunch will remain with Memphis into the regular season.

Training Camp Invites: Byars, Gadzuric, Alexander

September 25th, 2013 at 9:42pm CST by Alex Lee

While we've has plenty of training camp signings today – from Louis Amundson to Dwayne Jones to Sam Young to Renaldo Balkman to Eric Boateng and Darius Johnson-Odom – there is also news of training camp invites that have yet to be accepted. Let's take a look at buzz from around the league that might help us determine who lands where in October:

The Grizzlies have extended a training camp invite to Memphis-native Derrick Byars, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Byars, 29, has spent most of the time since his Vanderbilt days playing overseas, minus two games with the Spurs in 2011/12 and a handful of D-League stints. With only 13 guaranteed contracts, the Grizz have two potential open roster spots.
The Lakers have invited Dan Gadzuric to training camp, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles. With the additions of Boateng and Johnson-Odom, Gadzuric would make 19 players in camp for the Lakers should he accept. The UCLA product, 35, played in Venezuela last season after a decade in the NBA. The Lakers only have 11 guaranteed deals on their roster, but there will be plenty of competition for the remaining spots.
Former Bucks first rounder Joe Alexander has received an invitation to training camp from the Warriors, tweets Zach Lowe of Grantland. Alexander, the No. 8 pick of the 2008 draft, lasted only two years in the NBA out of West Virginia. With Ognjen Kuzmic's arrival in Oakland reportedly imminent, the Warriors will have two potential regular season roster spots remaining.

Free Agent Notes: Wiz, Byars, Powell

September 18th, 2013 at 6:31pm CST by Alex Lee

Despite news that Emeka Okafor is out indefinitely with a herniated disc and Chris Singleton will undergo surgery today, the Wizards cannot guarantee money to any free agents to replace them (without letting go of someone else on a guaranteed contract by opening night), tweets NBA.com's David Aldridge. Washington already has 15 guaranteed deals on their roster, including Okafor and Singleton, but as Aldridge points out (via Twitter), a trade is always possible. CSN Washington's J. Michael confirms Aldridge's report, via Twitter, adding that the Wizards are likely to bring two or three other players to camp in addition to the 15.

Let's take a look at some other free agent notes from around the league:

In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Lang Greene examines a number of unsigned NBA veterans who are still looking for work, including Richard Hamilton, Tyrus Thomas, and Stephen Jackson.
Memphis native and former Spur Derrick Byars is set to work out for the Grizzlies this week, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Spears adds that the Knicks also have some interest.
Josh Powell has worked out with New Orleans for a second time, tweets Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. The Pelicans, who expect to add more players to their camp roster, auditioned Powell last month.

Spurs Waive Derrick Byars

August 21st, 2012 at 5:52pm CST by Ryan Raroque

HoopsWorld reports that the Spurs have waived forward Derrick Byars. The 28-year-old forward played in the last two games of the regular season for San Antonio, averaging 5.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 18.5 MPG. Since being drafted in the second round in 2007, the former Vanderbilt standout has played in Europe and in the NBA D-League.

While he participated in training camp for the Bulls in 2009 and was signed by the Heat last December, Byars was not able to remain with either team before the start of their regular season schedules respectively. Although he had signed a multi-year deal with the Spurs in April, Byars' contract was not fully guaranteed for the 2012-13 season. The roster now stands at 14.