Los Angeles Clippers general manager Gary Sacks wasn’t in a mood to say much about any of the major decisions hanging over the franchise this summer in the first few moments after the Memphis Grizzlies knocked the Clippers out of the playoffs with a 118-105 win in Game 6 Friday night.

“We just lost the game. We’re going to let the dust settle a little bit and then evaluate everything,” a clearly disappointed Sacks told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “Our coaches and players did a good job this year. But right after the game, I can’t really comment on it.”

“It” would be the future of head coach Vinny Del Negro, whose contract expires at the end of June. According to a source, the Clippers had preliminary discussions with Del Negro about an extension to his contract before the season, but tabled them indefinitely, effectively putting Del Negro in a make-good situation.

“That’s what it was last year, too,” Del Negro said after the game. The Clippers had a team option on him after last season as well.

“So I just go about my business. I think my staff has done a fantastic job. I give them a ton of credit. Players. You’ve got to deal with a lot of things when you’re in this position, but I enjoy it.

“It’s something that I want to do, not something I have to do. I enjoy it, I enjoy the competition, I enjoy seeing guys develop and come together as a team. A lot of things are thrown at you, that’s for sure, but I love the challenge of it.”

– Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles

The Grizzlies won an old-time Memphis wrestling match Friday night, and now they’re headed back to the Western Conference semifinals for the second time in three seasons after getting the final takedown.

Mike Conley and Zach Randolph scored 23 points each, and the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 118-105 on Friday night to take the first-round series 4-2.

The Grizzlies had never won four straight postseason games before this series, and they became only the 10th team in NBA history to win four straight after trailing 0-2. They will open the second round at Oklahoma City on Sunday in a rematch of the franchise’s only other Western semifinal that the Thunder won in seven in 2011.

Memphis finished with seven players in double figures. Tony Allen had a postseason-best 19 points, and Jerryd Bayless had 16.

Reserve Matt Barnes scored a career playoff-best 30 points for Los Angeles. Chris Paul had 28 points before being ejected with 2:29 left for crashing into Marc Gasol off a missed free throw, though he shook hands with several Grizzlies before going to the locker room. Blake Griffin didn’t start because of his sprained right ankle, and he scored nine points in 13:56. Caron Butler added 14…

Having the commissioner on hand didn’t slow anyone down in a game featuring lots of headlocks and knockdowns with the only thing missing a steel cage as they combined for seven technicals. Even Grant Hill had three fouls in 3 minutes himself in the first half, and Chauncey Billups got a flagrant-1.

Randolph was ejected, too, with 1:57 remaining. He tossed his headband toward the stands and celebrated as he walked to the locker room…

Los Angeles led only once - at 45-44 on Barnes’ fourth 3-pointer with 5:08 left in the second quarter. The teams had four more ties before Quincy Pondexter hit a 3 with 2:02 left putting the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 54-51.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Zach Randolph’s fast start helped the Memphis Grizzlies return to their inside dominance.

Randolph had 13 of his 27 points in the first quarter, and he finished with 11 rebounds and the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-82 on Thursday night to pull within 2-1 in this first-round series.

”Zach was huge,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. ”He got started quickly. He had 18 at halftime, and that got us going and everyone else just flowed into that. I thought our defense, for the most part, was solid.”

Randolph hadn’t scored more than 13 in each of the first two games and had only 12 rebounds combined in Los Angeles. He looked much more like the All Star who had 45 double-doubles this season, and he also had six offensive rebounds after leading the NBA with 310 in the regular season…

Marc Gasol accepted his trophy as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year before tipoff, then scored 16 points. Quincy Pondexter and Tony Allen had 13 each. Mike Conley was 1 of 9 but had 10 assists and no turnovers on a night where he was so sick he sipped on soda and didn’t talk much…

Blake Griffin scored 16 points for the Clippers. Matt Barnes had 12, Chauncey Billups 11 and Jamal Crawford and Caron Butler 10. Chris Paul had eight points on 4-of-11 shooting and added six assists…

Memphis outrebounded the Clippers 45-33, including 17-5 on the offensive boards. That gave the Grizzlies a 22-4 edge in second-chance points, which was similar to what the Clippers did to Memphis in Game 1 when they held a 25-5 advantage. The Grizzlies also outscored Los Angeles 40-26 in the paint and led by as much as 16.

– Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

The first game was a blowout and the second was a buzzer-beater, but both were wins for the Clippers and that means they hold a 2-0 advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference NBA playoffs.

It’s a good omen for the Clippers, who have been up, 2-0, in a playoff series only one other time in franchise history. That time, in 2006, they went on to defeat the Denver nuggets, four games to one. It also holds an historical advantage as only 15 times in NBA playoff history has a team lost a series after winning the first two. 

Those things mean little to the Clippers, however. Nobody in their locker room was satisfied after Chris Paul’s buzzer-beating bank shot gave the Clippers a 93-91 victory in Game 2 at Staples Center. 

“All we did was protect our home court,” Vinny Del Negro said. “You have to win four games. We did what we were supposed to do. We know we’re going to have to play better in Memphis.” 

It would be difficult to play better than Paul did down the stretch. He scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and was the only Clippers’ player to score in the final 3:46 of the game. But the Clippers held a 12-point lead with just under 10 minutes to play and let the Grizzlies get back in to tie the game. They were able to get away with that at home, but trying that on the road would be playing with fire. 

– Reported by Peter Yoon of ESPN Los Angeles

UCLA men’s basketball freshman Shabazz Muhammad has elected to forego his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the 2013 NBA Draft. He is projected as a lottery pick by InsideHoops.com.

Muhammad led the Bruins with 17.9 points per game as a freshman in 2012-13, securing first-team All-Pac-12 Conference honors in addition to being named Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Las Vegas helped lead UCLA to a 25-10 record, the Pac-12 regular-season title, a runner-up finish in the Pac-12 Tournament and an NCAA Tournament berth.

“I am so thankful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at UCLA and will always be proud to be a Bruin,” Muhammad said. “From a young age, I have dreamed of playing in the NBA, and I believe that this is the right time for me to move to the next level.

“I have had an unbelievable experience at UCLA and am eternally grateful to my teammates, my coaches and the program’s support staff for helping me become a better person and basketball player during my time in Westwood. It has been an honor and a privilege to play for coach Ben Howland.”

Muhammad had a decorated freshman campaign, scoring in double figures in 31 of 32 games. He scored at least 20 points in 14 games, guiding UCLA to a 12-2 record in those contests. He was one of eight finalists for the Freshman of the Year Award presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers’ Association (Integris Wayman Tisdale Award) and secured USBWA Freshman All-America honors in addition to being named a first-team NABC All-District 20 selection.

On the court, Muhammad emerged as one of the Pac-12’s most talented three-point shooters, finishing the season ranked 12th in the conference in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in scoring (17.9 ppg). Muhammad and Travis Wear tied for second on the team in rebounds per game (5.2 rpg).

The 2013 NBA Draft will begin at 4 p.m. (PT) on June 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

– Via UCLA Bruins

No one needs to tell Chauncey Billups how important the next eight days are to the Clippers.

With five games to play in that span - including Wednesday’s home game against Minnesota - and the Clippers still in a fight with Memphis and Denver in the Western Conference playoff race they’ve reached a crucial stage of the regular season.

Billups knows that, and he understands the difference he can make when he’s on the floor with the Clippers.

On the other hand, the aggravated right groin strain he suffered March 27 against New Orleans still isn’t quite right, and with the Clippers eyeing a long playoff run he knows he needs to be as healthy as possible when the postseason opens in 10 days.

Which is why he reluctantly didn’t suit up against the Timberwolves on Wednesday and why he still won’t pinpoint a definite return, other than to say he’ll be ready when the Clippers open their first-round playoff series.

“Oh yeah,” Billups said. “I’ll be back before then.”

– Reported by Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News

Despite all of the injuries that have limited Chauncey Billups to 20 games this season, the Clippers starting guard said “no” when asked whether he had given thought to retiring after the season.

Billups sat out his eighth consecutive game because of a strained right groin, and he has no timetable for a return.

He sat out the first 14 games of the season recovering from left Achilles’ tendon surgery. Then Billups missed 34 games because of tendinitis in his left foot and one game because of a sore lower back.

“When I was trying to come back, they [the doctors] told me that this year would be tough,” Billups said. “I knew I would have a lot of knickknack injuries just so my body could recalibrate. And the following season, I could be 100% back to myself. So I was ready for the fight. That’s why these setbacks, these small ones, they don’t take the toll on me because I already had this set.”

– Reported by Broderick Turner Los Angeles Times

Chris Paul held up the red T-shirt reading ‘Can’t Stop Los Angeles’ for a quick postgame photo. He didn’t put it on, and neither did his Clippers teammates.

There was no celebrating on court or in the locker room after they beat the Lakers 109-95 on Sunday to clinch the Clippers’ first Pacific Division title in franchise history against a team that has long overshadowed them.

”It just feels like something we were supposed to do,” said Paul, who had 24 points and 12 assists. ”It means we’re headed in the right direction. We’re not satisfied. We understand this is something small compared to the big picture.”

Blake Griffin had 24 points and 12 rebounds as the playoff-bound Clippers swept the Lakers 4-0 for the first time since Donald Sterling bought the team in 1981.

The 1974-75 team, known as the Buffalo Braves, had the franchise’s only other sweep of the Lakers.

Fans chanted, ”Sweep! Sweep!” in the closing seconds.

Sterling accepted a congratulatory handshake from a fan after the game…

Jamal Crawford had 20 points off the bench, DeAndre Jordan had 13 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 14 points for the Clippers, who knew that even if they lost, they could have clinched later Sunday if Utah won at Golden State. Utah defeated the Warriors 97-90..

Dwight Howard scored 25 points, including 9 of 13 free throws, for the Lakers, who played without injured starters Steve Nash and Metta World Peace. Kobe Bryant added 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Pau Gasol had 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers’ three-game winning streak ended.

– Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

The evolution of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is ongoing — and whatever the final result is, the responsibility is in his hands.

Even Jordan recognizes that.

“Do any other basketball players stop growing as a person and as a player when they’re 24?” Jordan asked. “So, yes, I’m still growing and evolving — as a player and as a young man.”

As the starting center for the Clippers, there are high expectations for Jordan to be productive and mature on the court. And that has been a constant battle.

The yin and yang of Jordan’s play is evident — in his last two games.

On Monday, the Clippers lost to Indiana, 109-106, and Jordan was thoroughly outplayed by Pacers center Roy Hibbert (26 points and 10 rebounds). Midway through the third quarter, Jordan was benched and he didn’t return. His final stats: no points, five rebounds, in 16 minutes.

– Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed forward DaJuan Summers for the rest of the season.

Summers has appeared in two games for the Clippers, averaging 1.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 3.5 minutes of action.

The 26th D-League to NBA “Call-Up” of the 2012-13 season, Summers averaged 18.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in 33.1 minutes of action for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League this season over 29 games (16 starts).

The 6’8” Georgetown product was the 35th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft as an early entrant candidate. He appeared in 81 games (7 starts) for the Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Hornets from 2009-2012, averaging 3.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in 10.0 minutes of action.

Roy Hibbert had 26 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out, Paul George added 23 points and 10 assists, and the Indiana Pacers barely completed a sweep of their four-game road trip with a 109-106 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night in a battle of division leaders.

Hibbert, who was serving a one-game suspension from the league when the Pacers lost to the Clippers 99-91 at Indianapolis on Feb. 28, made all eight of his shots in the first half and finished 11 for 14 from the field to help his team extend its winning streak to five and increase its Central Division lead to 6 1/2 games over idle Chicago.

All five Pacers starters scored in double figures, with David West getting 16 and backcourt mates Lance Stephenson and George Hill chipping in with 13 apiece.

Jamal Crawford scored 25 points off the bench for the Pacific Division-leading Clippers, whose magic number to clinch the first division title in the franchise’s 43-year history remained at two. They failed on their third attempt at their 50th victory, which would break the franchise record set by the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves. Blake Griffin had 17 points.

Center DeAndre Jordan, whose games this season have fluctuated between dominant and invisible, played 17 scoreless minutes and went to the bench for good with 6:26 left in the third quarter. The Clippers were outscored 42-25 while he was on the floor…

The loss snapped the Clippers’ franchise-record streak of 10 straight wins against Eastern Conference opponents. … Los Angeles has a better winning percentage when Griffin scores fewer than 20 points (28-14) than it does when he gets 20 or more (20-11).

– Reported by Joe Resnick of the Associated Press

San Antonio Spurs All-Star Tim Duncan is a man of little emotion and even fewer words.

The Los Angeles Clippers brought out a demonstrative side rarely seen from the 16-year veteran and it helped lead to their downfall.

Duncan had a season-high 34 points, including a game-winning three-point play with 2.2 seconds left, and San Antonio outlasted Los Angeles 104-102 on Friday night.

Sparked by a pair of hard fouls in the second quarter, Duncan was 12 for 19 from field and also had 11 rebounds in leading San Antonio (55-17) to its seventh straight home victory.

”There was a stretch where they put the whistle away,” Duncan said. ”It gave me a little energy to kind of play a little harder. I got some shots to go early and it just kind of snowballed from there.”

Tony Parker added 24 points and eight assists, and Tiago Splitter had 14 points for San Antonio.

The Spurs extended their lead in the Western Conference to 2 1/2 games over Oklahoma City, which lost 101-93 to Minnesota.

Blake Griffin scored 18 points, Jamal Crawford added 16 and Chris Paul had 14 for the Clippers (49-24), who remain fourth in the West. Caron Butler added 11 points and Willie Green had 10.

– Reported by the Associated Press

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed guard Maalik Wayns for the remainder of the season.

Wayns has appeared in three games for the Clippers averaging 3.7 points, 2.3 assists and 9.3 minutes per game.

Wayns, who was the 23rd D-League to NBA “Call-Up” of the 2012-13 season, averaged 12.4 points and 3.0 assists in nine games (three starts) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League this season.

The 6’2” undrafted Villanova product started the season in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and appeared in 21 games for the Sixers. In those 21 games (one start), he averaged 2.7 points and 1.0 assist in 7.8 minutes of play.

E.M. ‘Kiki’ VanDeWeghe III, an All-American basketball player at UCLA, first-round draft pick, former two-time NBA All-Star, and successful NBA general manager and coach, will join the NBA as Vice President, Basketball Operations effective April 1, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Stu Jackson announced today.

In his new role, VanDeWeghe will be involved in a broad range of basketball matters, including the development of playing rules and interpretations; game analytics; disciplinary matters; and policies and procedures relating to the operation of NBA games.  He will also serve as a key interface between the league and the teams, drawing upon his years of experience as a general manager and coach. VanDeWeghe will report to Jackson.

“Kiki has a lifetime of basketball experience, including an NBA career spanning more than three decades as a player, coach, and general manager, which provides him with a tremendous amount of insight into our game,” Jackson said. “We’re looking forward to drawing upon his expertise on a wide range of matters involving our game.”

For the past two years, VanDeWeghe has been a contributor to FOX Sports West as a writer and analyst covering the Los Angeles Clippers.  Previously, he was the general manager, and for one season the interim head coach, of the New Jersey Nets from 2007 to 2010.  Before joining the Nets, he was a broadcast analyst for two years with ESPN. Prior to his time with ESPN, VanDeWeghe was the general manager of the Denver Nuggets from 2001 to 2006.

VanDeWeghe’s NBA playing career spanned 13 years, with the Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, and Clippers, during which he averaged 19.7 points with a 52.5% field goal average, 87.2% free throw average, made two All-Star appearances, and helped his teams to the postseason 12 times.

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed guard Maalik Wayns to a second 10-day contract.

Wayns appeared in one game for the Clippers, scoring two points and dishing out five assists in a 129-97 win over the Detroit Pistons on March 10.

Wayns, who was the 23rd D-League to NBA “Call-Up” of the 2012-13 season, averaged 12.4 points and 3.0 assists in nine games (three starts) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League this season.

The 6’2” undrafted Villanova product started the season in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and appeared in 21 games for the Sixers. In those 21 games (one start), he averaged 2.7 points and 1.0 assist in 7.8 minutes of play.

Knicks forward Kenyon Martin played for the Clippers last season, but it’s clear the breakup between the two sides was a bit messy and Martin still holds some bitterness.

When asked about the Clippers, Martin quickly snapped: “I don’t care what they do, to be honest with you. I hope they lose every game.”

After a few more game-related questions, the topic of the Clippers’ fast breaking and dunking style arose, and Martin said, “They can’t do it in the playoffs, so it doesn’t matter. Regular season, it’s all up-and-down. We know how the game goes in the regular season.”

Finally, I asked him why there was bad blood between him and the Clippers and he simply said, “Next question.”

– Reported by Jovan Buha, special to ESPN New York

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed Maine Red Claws forward DaJuan Summers to a 10-day contract. It is the 26th Call-Up of the 2012-13 NBA Development League season.  Summers joins 121 players with NBA D-League experience currently on NBA rosters.

Summers (6-8, 240, Georgetown) has played in 29 games, 16 starts, for the Red Claws this season, averaging 18.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 33.1 minutes.  He has led Maine in scoring 13 times, finishing with more than 20 points in 11 games and recording 30 or more points in two other contests.  A 2013 NBA D-League All-Star, Summers scored 28 points in 25 minutes for the Prospects Team in Houston.

A three-year contributor at Georgetown, Summers averaged 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 27.6 minutes in 101 career NCAA games for the Hoyas.

Summers is expected to join the Clippers today and be available on Sunday, March 17, when the team hosts the New York Knicks at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The Los Angeles Clippers today waived forward Trey Thompkins. The 37th overall selection of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Clippers out of Georgia, Thompkins averaged 2.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in 24 games during his rookie season. He did not appear in a game this season due to a left knee bone bruise.

“We want to thank Trey for his contribution to the Clippers,” Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. “Unfortunately, he was never able to truly showcase his talents this season due to injuries. We wish him all the best and believe he has a bright future.”

The Clippers roster currently stands at 14.

The Los Angeles D-Fenders, of the NBA Development League, have acquired former 2010 first round NBA Draft pick Craig Brackins, it was announced today.

Brackins, a 6-10, 230 pound forward, most recently played for Angelico Biella (Italy) where he was voted to the Italian SerieA All-Star Game.  The 21st overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft, Brackins joined the Oklahoma City Thunder and was subsequently moved on draft day to the New Orleans Hornets before ultimately landing with the Philadelphia 76ers.  In 17 career NBA games with the 76ers, Brackins averaged 1.8 points (30 total points), 1.1 rebounds (19 total rebounds) and 0.5 assists (9 total assists) in 7.1 minutes per game.  Brackins also brings NBA Development League experience to the D-Fenders, averaging 19.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25 career games with the Springfield Armor and Maine Red Claws.

A standout at Iowa State University, Brackins was named to the All-Big 12 First Team (2009) and All-Big 12 Second Team (2010) and received an Associated Press NCAA All-America Honorable Mention nod (2009).  In three seasons at Iowa State, Brackins averaged 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds over 96 games, finishing his career ranked 12th all-time in points scored (1,539) and eighth in rebounds (736).

If given the benefit of hindsight and knowing the reaction that would come from the outside world, most would take a step back as DeAndre Jordan launched his 7-foot frame near the rim for a thunderous dunk, especially if you’re eight inches shorter.

But Brandon Knight? Nah. He’d go after Jordan again because in his mind and heart it was the right play.

He took things personally. Not the reaction from the public, which used Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to make fun of Knight becoming a poster, but of the Los Angeles Clippers clowning the Pistons on Sunday night without much resistance.

“When I step on the court, I don’t take people dunking six, seven or eight times and not attempting to stop it. It’s personal to me,” said Knight with crutches under his arms after sustaining a “severe” ankle injury in the first quarter of Monday’s 103-90 loss to the Utah Jazz.

– Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News