A frustrated Allen Iverson(notes) has left the Memphis Grizzlies and is not expected to return anytime soon, if at all, a source close to the situation told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.

The Grizzlies granted Iverson a leave of absence to allow him to return to his offseason home in Atlanta. The source said Iverson wants to clear his head and is extremely unhappy about the lack of communication with Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins over his playing time and role with the team.

Grizzlies officials said Iverson was allowed to leave the team so he could attend to a personal matter. The decision came after he met with Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley Saturday morning in Los Angeles.

“I’m not going to get into the personal reason but it has nothing to do with the other stuff,” Heisley told the Memphis Commerical Appeal, which first reported Iverson's departure on Saturday. “I’m the guy who said he could go. It’s a real family issue that I don’t think should be reported.”

While it is true Iverson

Allen Iverson(notes) had plenty to say during his recent trip to the Bay Area – most notably, that he isn't happy about coming off the bench for the Memphis Grizzlies – and his attitude likely won't change unless or until the Grizzlies start winning.

Say what you will about A.I., but he has no problem speaking his mind. From his free-agency experience this past summer to his future to even his hair, Iverson touched on a handful of topics – besides his role with the Grizzlies – during a one-on-one interview with Yahoo! Sports.

Q: After things went bad with the Detroit Pistons, did you feel like you needed to sell the Grizzlies on signing you?

Iverson: Nah. I talked with them and had a conversation with them about what I wanted for the rest of my career, what I can do for the squad. But I'm not playing basketball no more to make money or anything like that or fame. I've been there and did that. I just want to be happy doing what I love to do. If I felt I had to sell myself or sell out to

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Memphis Grizzlies started their game against the Golden State Warriors with Allen Iverson(notes) still on the bench. And after the Grizzlies lost again, Iverson’s feelings about not starting also remained unchanged.

Iverson totaled 18 points, seven assists and four turnovers in a respectable 27-minute performance during the Grizzlies’ 113-105 loss on Wednesday. But while his playing time increased by 10 minutes from his debut two nights earlier in Sacramento, Iverson still wasn’t happy about two things:

He came off the bench.

And the Grizzlies lost.

No one, Iverson said, should be surprised by his frustration, even Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins.

“The focus is on it because everybody in this whole world knows that I have a problem with it,” Iverson said. “That’s why it’s an issue. It’s easy to say I’m selfish. My response to that is it’s something I’ve never done. And if we had success with us doing it than obviously I’d want to do it because we are winning

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Allen Iverson(notes) made his debut with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, and it went about as expected.

He spent much of the night on the sideline. And he wasn't happy about it.

Nor, it seems, was his rear.

"I had a problem with my butt from sitting on the bench so long," Iverson said. "That's the only thing I had a problem with."

Iverson made his first appearance in an NBA game since April 1, and not much had changed in the seven months in between. The Grizzlies brought him off the bench just like the Detroit Pistons tried to do, and Iverson didn't like it. Not after watching the Grizzlies lose 127-116 in overtime to the lowly Sacramento Kings. Not after he played just 17 minutes – an effective 17 minutes in which he scored 11 points – and not after seeing his new team fall to 1-3 while he sat idly on the sideline.

Upon signing with the Grizzlies this summer, Iverson said he would have no problem coming off the bench – provided he was given a chance to compete

The Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo(notes) have reached an agreement in principle on a contract extension, Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, said early Monday.

League sources said the extension is for five years and guarantees Rondo at least $55 million. With the two sides facing a Monday deadline to get a deal done, Duffy said he called Celtics president Danny Ainge on Sunday to inform him Rondo was prepared to play out his contract and become a restricted free agent next summer because they weren’t satisfied with the team’s previous offers. Ainge, however, surprised Duffy by responding that Rondo’s contract hopes would be met.

“As much as we were willing to wait his contract out, the Celtics stepped up to the plate to meet the original request,” Duffy said by phone. “This is a really fair contract. We wanted him to be paid like one of the top five point guards around. It also allows the Celtics to maintain continuity to continue to be one of the best teams at this time.”

Rondo, 23, averaged

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The days of C-Webb and Vlade are over. The clanging cowbells, those wild playoff runs into May – memories of a better time. For the Sacramento Kings, today's reality is this: They play in an old, half-empty arena, lack a transcendent superstar (in spite of Kevin Martin's(notes) talents) and pile up losses like the franchise once did in those dreary red-white-and-blue days.

The Kings aren't going to challenge for a championship anytime soon, or even the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. What they need, more than anything, is hope. And the franchise's co-owner, Gavin Maloof, believes he's found it in a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania.

Tyreke Evans(notes) will lead these Kings back to the promised land. Someday. They hope.

"I'm tired of all the negativity about this franchise," Maloof told Kings fans on the night the team drafted Evans. "It's changing – and it changes today."

If that sounds like wishful thinking, it is. The Kings won just 17 games last

Kobe Bryant(notes) looked at the box score from the Houston Rockets' preseason game against the Boston Celtics and was alarmed by the stat line of one player.

Trevor Ariza(notes), Bryant's former teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers the previous two seasons, had missed all but one of his 11 shots – including all four of his 3-point attempts – and failed to hand out a single assist. Bryant figured Ariza was in need of a little brotherly advice, so he sent him an encouraging text message.

"He was like, 'I've been through the same situation before. So just slow down, stay focused on your goal and it will come around. You're in a situation where you have an opportunity, so take advantage of it,' " Ariza said of Bryant's message.

Ariza welcomed Bryant's advice because he now finds himself in a unique position: The Rockets need him to become their go-to scorer, a role Ariza hasn't held since he was a senior at Los Angeles' Westchester High six years ago. In his six NBA seasons, Ariza has

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Houston Rockets had one goal during their ride to Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors:

Don’t get seasick.

A bridge closure forced the Rockets to find alternate transportation from their hotel in San Francisco to the Warriors’ arena in Oakland or risk being late. They settled on taking a passenger ferry across the San Francisco Bay.

“Trevor Ariza said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ” Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. “Tracy McGrady was laughing."

Teams staying in San Francisco typically need 30-45 minutes to make the trip to Oakland by charter bus, but the Bay Bridge has been closed for emergency repairs. The closure has caused major traffic issues because it connects 280,000 motorists daily across the bay. Motorists are taking alternate routes like the ferry, train and BART to get to their destinations.

Jones first learned of the Bay Bridge closure during the Rockets’ season-opening loss at Portland on Tuesday night. During halftime, he had the