Lauries Say They Won’t Buy Grizzlies After All

Bill and Nancy Laurie, a billionaire couple that purchased the NHL’s St. Louis Blues in September, on Thursday called off their efforts to buy the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies and move the team to St. Louis.

The Lauries, from Columbia, Mo., announced in a statement that they had terminated their agreement and would “explore other methods” of bringing an NBA team to the city.

“That remains our objective, and we intend to explore all options, including the possibility of securing an NBA expansion franchise,” Bill Laurie said.

Laurie said others in the league felt Vancouver hadn’t been given an “adequate opportunity to demonstrate their support for the Grizzlies.”

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San Antonio Spur forward Sean Elliott said he has been cleared to play, five months after receiving a kidney transplant, but team officials are skeptical at how quickly he can return.

“He said he was cleared to play and I said, ‘No, you’re not,’ not until I see things in writing--then he’s cleared,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said.

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Leon Smith, whose bid to go from high school star to NBA rookie has been a disaster, said problems with the Dallas Mavericks and a former girlfriend led him to try committing suicide.

“The truth is I was trying to end my life,” Smith, who swallowed 250 aspirin on Nov. 14, told KRIV-TV in Houston on Thursday. “I was trying to get rid of the pain. That was the only way I knew how to do it.”

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Elton Brand, the No. 1 pick in last year’s NBA draft, wrecked his car Thursday morning after a Chicago Bulls’ game but was not injured. Brand spun out in his Mercedes-Benz on the Kennedy Expressway about 2 a.m. He was alone and no citations were issued. . . . The Chicago Bulls signed Chris Carr to a second 10-day contract and released guard Dedric Willoughby. . . . Toronto Raptor teammates Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, and Houston Rocket rookie sensation Steve Francis, are among six players competing in the NBA’s Slam Dunk contest. The contest also features Golden State’s Antawn Jamison, Philadelphia’s Larry Hughes and Detroit’s Jerry Stackhouse. It will be held Feb. 12 during All-Star Weekend in Oakland.