Kobe Bryant finally let loose about the trade rumors surrounding Pau Gasol, saying that it is affecting the Spaniard and needs to end, one way or another.
Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol wear two NBA championship rings which Bryant says he wouldn't have won but for the Lakers acquisition of Gasol three years ago this month.
Bryant who has seen his big forward's production slip and his inconsistent play, had been mute on the subject of trade rumors surrounding Gasol and the Lakers.
With the Lakers mired in a season in which they scratch and claw for any win, looking just like what they are -- a team with a new system and parts that don't fit it -- Bryant has been asked if he thinks he can win a championship with the team as constituted.
Only two weeks ago he told media that he had faith in Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and that Bryant's job was to win on the court with the team he's got and leave all that other stuff to the front office
After Sunday night's very ugly road loss to the Phoenix Suns 102-90, during which they were down nearly 30 points at one time during the game, Bryant sang a different tune.
Calling for an end to the constant trade rumors involving Gasol, Kobe said he wants a conclusion for everyone's sake. Gasol's angst has risen to a level for concern.Video of Bryant's comments posted below.
"I talked to (Gasol) a little bit about it," Bryant said. "It's just tough for a player to give his all when you don't know if you're going to be here tomorrow. I'd rather them not trade him at all. If they're going to do something, I wish they would just (expletive) do it."
Gasol was traded once already but it was squashed by the NBA's league office in the debacle that was the attempted Chris Paul to the Lakers situation.
He was a man about it, going about his business in the early going but constant rumors about him being sent to places like Minnesota, Orlando and elsewhere have not stopped
While Bryant wasn't screaming out loud and threatening to take his marbles and go home, as he once did in 2007, the turnaround in his attitude is notable.
There more than likely will be a response from Lakers' management, but only in the most subtle of ways. Kupchak is not someone who engages in public dialogue about these matters. It will come when he makes himself available to media and they ask him the inevitable question: what do you think of what Kobe said? Image: Wikimedia Commons/Christoper Johnson
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