My last Derrick Byars-related post was truly designed to be my last. I even called for a truce in the opening.
But no one abided by it, so neither will I.
Derrick Byars has taken his two years of decent work in the NBA D-League, added the words "Chicago Bulls" to an already decent resumé, and landed himself a rather plush gig in Germany. He has signed for ALBA Berlin, one of the stronger German teams in no way affiliated with Jessica. Or Irving.
So perhaps we can now put the Derrick Byars non-issue to rest.
Derrick Byars signs in Germany
The German league is not a particularly strong one. There's not a lot of parity in it - the teams at the bottom have almost no homegrown German talent, and rely on a bevvy of cheap Americans who almost all only play one season there. It's hard to develop an infrastructure with that kind of turnover, and to emphasise that American influx, the top 10 current scorers in the German BBL are all Americans (as are 9 of the top 10 rebounders). However, the teams at the top of the league - ALBA Berlin, EWE Baskets Oldeburg, Brose Baskets Bamberg and Telekom Baskets Bonn - are pretty strong.
Players in the German league that you may have heard of include; former Wake Forest centre Kyle Visser; last year's Bulls camp invite Elton Brown; former NBA draftees Jared Jordan, Rashad Wright and Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (who's so good they named him twice); former Illinois guard Chester Frazier; and NBA journeyman swingman Rodney Buford (whose surname I just accidentally discovered comes out as "Vydies" if you type it using keys one to the left of the intended ones. Fun fact.)
Last year, ALBA Berlin were a Euroleague team. Their roster sported former NBA talent such as Casey Jacobsen, Ansu Sesay and Rashad Wright, and they made it through their qualifying group (above the Rubio-led DKV Joventut) to the final 16 stage. There, they were faced with the impossible task of qualifying from a four man group that also hosted Barcelona, Real Madrid and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and they were knocked out of the competition. But to even get that far as a good achievement.
This year, they're not in the Euroleague, and their German league season is off to a sloppy 3-2 start. They are however in the Eurocup, which is the second tier European competition for the teams not quite good enough to be in the Euroleague, but which is still a strong competition. This is particularly excellent news for me, as it means I'll get to see a lot of their games. Good times.
ALBA are not the same calibre of team that they were last year, and Byars' subsequent exposure will not be as great. Nonetheless, they will still pay a lot more than the Bakersfield Jam did. So well done Derrick.
In other former Bull news, would you like to see former Bulls coach Tim Floyd breaking up a multi-lady cat fight at a casino?
Yes, yes I think you would.
13 Comments
Mark Deeks said:
Always taking requests, BTW.
fola said:
Well, if you're taking request then id like to see.... a video of Tim Floyd rapping. With the obligatory 'thug life' tattoo on his chest.
fola said:
Also, good luck DB.
MrHappy said:
I'm happy for him, but sad for the Bulls.
The Bulls shooting is AWFUL. They better address it. How about going after Kelenna Azubuike, at some point, this year? He's a nice looking player, who is struggling to find minutes in Golden State. He's headed towards free-agency. I'm assuming he will opt out of his contract, so maybe he'll become trade bait.
Tyrus Thomas to Golden State?
evilhoban said:
Anyone else offended by Steve Rosendouche's latest blog?
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/11/thomas-has-has-the-flu-the-best-vaccine-would-be-a-trade.html
Justin said:
Hey Sham, this got me thinking... We need you to explain the anatomy of foreign basketball leagues as if you were talking to a 5 year old. Euroleague? Eurocup? Top 16? German Leagues? It'd be nice to understand (once and for all) what the hell goes on over there (in terms of basketball of course). Maybe give us some links for the various leagues. Explain how the leagues fit together. How does a team "make" Euroleague. What exactly is Euroleague. ect ect
Mark Deeks said:
In it's own post or a real long comment?
Justin said:
Definitely its own post. Complete with graphics and important links and random tidbits of info per usual.
avtar said:
why would golden state trade for tyrus? they already have randolph.
MrHappy said:
Here's what I was thinking.
To Bulls: Marcus Camby, Kelenna Azubuike and Acie Law
To Clipper: Luol Deng (Thornton just got demoted there)
To Warriors: Tyrus Thomas (They could move Randolph to SF)
MrHappy said:
Did anybody see the O2 World Arena, Derrick Byars will be playing in?
http://www.albaberlin.de/staticsite/staticsite.php?menuid=1250&topmenu=321&keepmenu=inactive
That's RIDICULOUS!!!
Gustav van S said:
@ MrHappy ridiculous in what way positive or negative?
I think its a goo sign for ALBA, they need shooting badly, maybe as badly as the bulls and byars has a nice portfolio.
@Justin The european system of basketball is not too difficult. Teams will qualify nationally for one of the two pan-european cups, the euroleague being the higher prestige one with the better copetetants( eg. Maccabi tel Aviv who beat the raptors a while ago, the Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid and Bacelona and some rich russian clubs such as CSKA Moscow, and then play in groups until the final four.
hope that helped a little
so long Gustav
MrHappy said:
Ridiculous, in a good way.
That arena looks pretty fancy. I like the design of it. That looks like some quality architecture.
By the way, Derrick Byars is only on signed for the rest of their season, so maybe Mark and I can pick up this debate next summer...haha. I'm sure he would love that...wink-wink.
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