NBA Rumors: Kobe Bryant Admirable for Supporting Pau Gasol Amidst Trade Talk

Even Kobe Bryant has grown weary of all of the trade talk surrounding Pau Gasol. And he let the Los Angeles Lakers front office hear about it publicly in no uncertain terms.

Good for you, Kobe.

Kobe's comments on the matter came after the Lakers loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. From Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:

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"I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him," Bryant said crisply after the Lakers' 102-90 loss Sunday. "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, but if they're going to do something, I wish they would just ... do it."

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He wasn't done.

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"If they're not going to do it, come out and say you're not going to do it," Bryant said. "This way, he can be comfortable and go out and can perform and play and he can invest all of himself into the 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."

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It was a solid gesture from Kobe, and one that will play well in the locker room and with Gasol. And he's right, of course—a constant stream of rumors like the ones surrounding Gasol would weigh down any player, at least a little bit, and a bit of reassurance from the front office would eradicate those worries.

At this point, Gasol has been sent to the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and even the Chicago Bulls in a truly bizarre rumor this weekend. Gasol is planted about as firmly on the block as a player could be, and that can't be fun to constantly be reminded of.

Of course, Kobe is also smart enough to know that his gesture may play in the locker room but will have little effect in the front office. After the offseason, it's no secret that the Lakers have been looking for a way to improve their club, and Gasol is likely to be involved in any deal that accomplishes that expectation.

In other words, don't expect any reassurances from them soon.

But Kobe said the right things, even if his words fall on deaf ears, which will hopefully galvanize the team in the face of so many wayward rumors.

At least until Pau Gasol is actually traded, of course.

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