Mike Brown would prefer to reduce the minutes of Kobe Bryant, but he will not be able to as the Lakers vie for playoff positioning. 

"All of our guys, if I can get any of our guys rest of any given day or any given night, I would love to do that," Brown said. "But right now, we can't afford to do that."

Brown believes Bryant is capable of logging heavy minutes.

"His body's in great condition," Brown said. "But he's kind of a freak of nature. When he's 52, his body might be in peak condition."

Kobe Bryant admitted to being unhappy when Mike Brown pulled him in the fourth quarter of a 102-96 loss to the Grizzlies on Sunday.

"Of course I was," Bryant told reporters.

"It's his decision to make," Bryant said. "He makes the decision. He's the coach. If you guys are looking for a story, I'm not going to give you one. I can't sit here and criticize his decisions. In leading this ballclub, that's something I can't afford to do. I got to have his back. I've had his back the whole season; I can't start doing something crazy now. It wouldn't make no sense."

Brown did not provide a specific reason when asked about taking Bryant out.

"I just felt like I needed to make a sub at the time, so I did," Brown said. "It's not one particular thing. I just made the sub, went with Metta (World Peace), sat (Bryant) for a couple minutes and then tried to go back to him but obviously it didn't work."

Kobe Bryant already has a no-trade clause in his contract, but Jim Buss said on Friday that he would never trade him anyways.

"I think about a lot of things to improve this team, to figure out how to manage the finances of it," said Jim Buss on Friday. "One thing I haven't thought of is Kobe being somewhere else. I don't know why that question has ever come up and I'd like to squish that one."

Jim Buss has become more involved in personnel decisions over the past few seasons.

"I might disagree with you that Kobe only has three or four years left, but we'll see," Buss said. "As you see, we make trades and our whole focus isn't to win a sixth (championship). I'm not sure I would stop there for Kobe; I would go to seven or eight if we can. ... I think Kobe is going to be a Laker for life and I'm pretty sure he's not going to hang them up after two years."

Buss also addressed how the NBA's new CBA impacts teams like the Lakers.

"The lockout had to do with what is fair is fair," Buss said. "The percentages weren't correct and teams were losing money. I think what happened with the lockout and the new CBA and the revenue sharing all at one time, it looks like it was pointed towards the Lakers, but nobody actually pointed their finger at the Lakers. We're a very successful organization. We make a good amount of money and the other teams lose money and we're an easy target to try to get that money.

"We fought tooth and nail to keep the flexibility to keep this going. Obviously, we lost to a certain degree because we have lost our flexibility to spend money. The revenue sharing was, in our mind, excessive but to other people it wasn't."

Kobe Bryant has welcomed the addition of Ramon Sessions, a point guard capable of making plays for himself and others.

"I've been extremely impressed," Bryant said. "He takes a lot of pressure off of me. I can be a legitimate 2-guard now. Know what I mean? He can play-make for others. Before, I had to score and play-make for others, as well. I don't have to do that. I can be on the receiving end of those plays."

Derek Fisher is in Oklahoma City finalizing a contract with the Thunder for the remainder of the season.

Fisher is scheduled to clear waivers Wednesday evening.

Fisher was traded by the Lakers to Rockets before last week's deadline.

Andrew Bynum's ejection in the third quarter at Houston led to the Lakers giving up a 12-point fourth quarter lead.

"I was irritated," Mike Brown said of Bynum's ejection. "He's got to figure out what he wants to do.

"You've got to ask him what his response was to the ref, when he had the interaction with the ref, but we need him on the floor, and (neither) he nor anybody else right now can put themselves in jeopardy."

The Lakers plan on exercising their team option on Andrew Bynum for the 12-13 season.

The Lakers have until June 30th to formally exercise Bynum's $16.1 million contract.

"Hes the starting center on the West All-Star team. Why wouldn't we do everything we could to keep him here?" said Mitch Kupchak. "We're ecstatic to have him on the team."

Derek Fisher opted out of the entire $3.4 million remaining on his contract for the 12-13 season, according to a source. Fisher will receive his remaining 11-12 salary in full.

Houston essentially traded Jordan Hill and his expiring contract to the Lakers for a first round pick.

When Fisher clears waivers, he will be free to sign with any team except for the Lakers or Rockets.

Gilbert Arenas worked out for the Grizzlies on Monday and will sign a contract with the club for the remainder of the season, according to sources.

Arenas hasn't played since the Magic used their amnesty provision upon him in the offseason.

The Grizzlies are thin in the backcourt, as Jeremy Pargo and Josh Selby have been inconsistent.

The Lakers were also a candidate to sign Arenas, but their need diminished following their trade for Ramon Sessions.

Drew Gooden and Andrew Bynum have been named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week for games played between March 12nd and March 18th.

Gooden, Milwaukee's second consecutive Player of the Week winner (Ersan Ilyasova), led the Bucks to a 3-0 week behind averages of 18.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists. Gooden's 15-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound triple-double keyed the Bucks' 115-105 win against the Cavaliers on March 14. Winners of five straight, the Bucks trail the Knicks by one-half game for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Bynum led the Lakers to a 3-1 week, which included wins over the Grizzlies and Timberwolves. Bynum led the West in rebounding (14.8 rpg) and placed second in scoring (27.5) while shooting .665 from the field (fourth in the Conference).