From the June 11 Los Angeles Times:

No one from the Sparks would say what led to Byears' abrupt dismissal.

"The personal matter had a little to do with the decision," Coach Michael Cooper said. "But the big decision was we needed somebody to help Mwadi [Mabika] at [small forward]. With Jennifer Gillom, Chandra Johnson and Rhonda Mapp coming back, that gave us enough big people, because there is not a lot of playing time there."

Other Sparks -- who were informed of the move after the morning shootaround -- said the Byears' dismissal caught them by surprise. Nikki Teasley wore Byears' name and uniform number on her shoes during the game.

"We're still kind of in shock," said Leslie, who led the Sparks with 19 points and eight rebounds. "I think we're addressing that we're not a one-person team. Obviously we will miss Tasha a lot, because she means a lot to us; she's a good friend and a person we love. And she helped this team win."