Kobe Bryant Calls on Lakers Management to Make Decision on Pau Gasol

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Kobe Bryant has had enough of the uncertainty surrounding Lakers teammate Pau Gasol's future with the team, and the superstar strongly urged Lakers management to clear up the situation after the team suffered a frustrating 102-90 loss Sunday night at Phoenix.

"It's just tough for a player to give his all when you don't know if you're going to be here tomorrow,'' Bryant said in a post-game interview. "So I'd rather them not trade him at all. If they were going to do something, I wish they would just... do it. If they're not going to do it, come out and say you're not going to do it.'

"It's hard for Pau because of all this trade talk and stuff. It's hard for him to kind of invest himself completely or immerse himself completely into games when he's hearing trade talk every other day."

Gasol finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds in the Lakers' Sunday loss. Bryant had 32 points as the Suns broke LA's three-game win streak.

Bryant's comments are another sign of the turmoil that has plagued the team since before the start of the season. Gasol was part of a three-team trade that would have sent him to New Orleans for all-star guard Chris Paul. But that proposal was denied by the league, and Gasol stayed with the Lakers as Paul joined the LA Clippers.

"I understand this is a business, and it's become more of a business than a sport nowadays,'' Gasol said in December after the trade was quashed. "It hasn't been extremely easy to be calm and quiet and not think about the different possibilities. But I'm still here, and I'm thankful for that.''

Gasol stuck around, but another key member of the 2009 and 2010 championship teams was lost after the Lakers-Hornets proposed deal, which also involved Lamar Odom. A few days after the deal was denied, Odom, who averaged 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game last year, was traded to NBA champs Dallas.

At 18-13, the Lakers are two games behind the first-place Clippers in the Pacific Division. The Lakers are six games behind first-place Oklahoma City in the Western Conference.

"I'm sure we'll make some tweaks here and there but the foundation is here,'' Bryant said after Sunday's game. "You can't have one of our pillars not knowing if he's going to be here or not. Do something. One way or another, do something. If they trade him at least you have some type of closure, at least he gets some type of closure.

"You just want security and a little clarity. I think that would help him out a lot, help us out a lot.''

"I am disgusted with Laker management and I am a long time fan," Lisa Mills commented on the NBC LA Facebook page. "Shame on them for the way they are handling this. Gasol is a stand up player who is handling this terrible situation with the utmost professionalism and grace."