Faced with continued trade rumors involving Pau Gasol, the Los Angeles Lakers can expect those to keep going so long as the Spaniard big man declines to get shy about his status. Gasol told ESPN's Marc Stein this week that he has received only some clarification from the Lakers front office as to his status going forward. In other words: he's not convinced that he'll be a Laker on March 16, once the NBA trade deadline passes.

From Stein:

Sources say that the Houston Rockets remain adamant that they won't surrender Kyle Lowry for Gasol, no matter how much they like the big man, but it's likewise still true that L.A. lusts for an elite point guard to pair with Bryant and has made it known around the league that it's willing to surrender Gasol to get one.

Elite point guards don't exactly grow on trees, and Gasol is on the wrong side of 30, so try as L.A. might, this could be a tough deal to close. The Lakers have a bit less than two weeks left.

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