Pro Basketball

Poor Lakers. Even if Dwight Howard walks and Metta World Peace gets amnestied, they're still too far over the salary cap to chase any big-name free agents. Silly NBA rules. Along those lines, a sad-looking quote stood out as players and staffers slogged through two days of end-of-season meetings last week - except Antawn Jamison, who skipped them as a final goodbye to the team and Mike D'Antoni. "The collective-bargaining agreement really limits how we can add to the team," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said.

Western Conference semifinals No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 5 Grizzlies Season series: Grizzlies, 2-1. Key stat: Memphis power forward Zach Randolph averaged 24.8 points over the Grizzlies' final four games of their first-round series victory over the Clippers. Outlook: Memphis was a tough matchup for Oklahoma City even before Thunder guard Russell Westbrook suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. The Grizzlies' strength is in the post, where Randolph and center Marc Gasol pounded their young and athletic counterparts in the first round and are certainly eager to try to do the same to Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins.

Though the primary focus for the Clippers will be on re-signing Chris Paul and on whether the team keeps or releases Coach Vinny Del Negro, L.A. has other roster decisions to make as well. The players came in Saturday for their exit interviews with the front office a day after the Clippers were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies in a Western Conference first-round series. It was a Clippers team still coming to grips with having won the franchise's first-ever Pacific Division and finished with a team-best 56-26 record.

Kobe Bryant is locked in a court battle with his mother because she is trying to auction off his old Lakers and high school memorabilia. Pamela Bryant was given $450,000 up front by Goldin Auctions, a New Jersey auction house, so it could sell mementos from Kobe's days at Lower Merion High in Ardmore, Pa., and in his early seasons with the Lakers. She planned to use the advance to help purchase a home in Nevada. Goldin Auctions announced plans Tuesday for an auction in June of what its website calls "the bryant collection.

Win or go home. It's the slogan for the NBA during the playoffs and it now applies to the Clippers. The reeling Clippers must beat the surging Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, on the road, in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series or L.A.'s season is over. If the Clippers find a way to win - something they haven't done in the last three games after winning the first two in this best-of-seven series - Game 7 would be Sunday at Staples Center.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Chris Paul sat in a chair wearing a red jacket, his night done early after he was ejected from the game with 2:29 left after getting his second technical foul. Matt Barnes sat in his chair with a towel over his head. Blake Griffin sat in his chair with both hands on his head, his sprained right ankle in a bucket of ice. The Clippers' locker room was mostly quiet after a 118-105 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 that eliminated L.A. from the Western Conference first-round playoffs.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  -- Matt Barnes was not going down without a fight. Barnes scored a playoff career-high 30 points in Game 6 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against Memphis on Friday night. He played small forward and power forward, often having to defend Memphis star Zach Randolph. Barnes made his first seven shots, including his first five three-point tries. Overall, he made 11 of 14 from the field, six of seven beyond the arc. He also had a team-high 10 rebounds in almost 37 minutes, but the Clippers were eliminated by the Grizzlies.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Bring on the next bunch of disappointing, underachieving, gagging local athletes. And so it goes with our Trojans, Lakers, Clippers and even the Bruins losing their last three. So much promise, raised expectations and then a quick goodbye to all. The Kings? The who? Oh yeah, I hear they're down already, 2-0. Thank heavens for the grandchildren. They are waiting at home, in for a visit from Arizona, and they don't give a lick about the power trip referee Joe Crawford is on, disturbed fans in Memphis or a visit with the Choking Dogs on Monday night.

Goodbye, David Kahn. Hello, Flip Saunders. Again. The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Thursday that owner Glen Taylor will not pick up the option for next season on Kahn's contract as president of basketball operations. Three people with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that Taylor has agreed on a deal to hire Saunders as Kahn's replacement. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Saunders will be a part-owner of the team. Saunders coached the Timberwolves from 1995 to 2005, and his reputation in the Twin Cities only grew when the team cratered after his exit.