Blake Griffin posterizes Pau Gasol at home.

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Blake Griffin slams home Randy Foye`s miss.

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The Lakers and Celtics discussed a trade centered around Rajon Rondo last week, but nothing materialized.

Metta World Peace, Rajon Rondo

Los Angeles is unwilling to trade Gasol in a package for Rondo, making a deal before the deadline unlikely.

“Unless they give up Gasol, they’re not going to get a top-level point guard,” said a person familiar with the situation.

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It may not have been what Pau Gasol was hoping to hear. And it certainly was not the kind of blanket — trade him now or do not trade him at all — answer that Kobe Bryant had asked for. But after months of silence, worry and uncertainty, Gasol and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak did indeed speak to clear the air about the Spaniard’s future with the team.

Pau Gasol

“I have an understanding of where things are,” Gasol said after the Lakers’ shootaround in Detroit on Tuesday, “where they stand and where he stands and where I stand. He [Kupchak] told me to just keep doing what you do, keep playing hard and playing on and from that point on, we’ll see.”

While Kupchak did not tell Gasol that he would not be traded, the conversation seemed to go a long way in settling Gasol’s nerves because he had not been given much if any feedback about his status since he was involved in the failed Chris Paul trade in early December.

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Pau Gasol senses the Lakers are ready trade him in the event a good enough deal comes along.

Pau Gasol

“There’s talks and rumors every day. Today I was reading it was Minnesota is really interested in trying to put a good package together,” Gasol said. “[Other teams are] calling, and it seems like things are just waiting for the right offer to come along for [the Lakers] to pull the trigger.”

Gasol would like to remain in Los Angeles, but admits the situation is out of his hands.

“I’d like to make his team better and get back to a championship level, but it’s not up to me,” he said. “Every day I tell myself, try to let it go. Don’t think about it. Have fun, be the player you are out there. That’s all that you can do.”

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According to sources, the Rockets still are interested in acquiring Pau Gasol and they would likely be willing to trade Kevin Martin and Luis Scola for the Spaniard.

Pau Gasol

But the Lakers are unlikely to move Gasol without acquiring a point guard back in return and Houston is not interested in trading Kyle Lowry.

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Rajon Rondo

Mitch Kupchak recently talked openly about the Lakers’ desire to acquire a young and talented point guard.

“Well, if there were a way for us to get a 25-year-old, All-Star, ball-handling guard we’d love to do it,” said Kupchak to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. “But that’s not likely in February. So you look at other alternatives, and see if it’s better than what you have. That’s all.”

Rajon Rondo is the player that fits that description, possibly the only one in the NBA. Sources say the Celtics have interest in acquiring Pau Gasol for Rondo.

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Pau Gasol

The Hornets are engaged in trade talks with the Lakers and Rockets about a three-team trade that would send Chris Paul to Los Angeles and Pau Gasol to Houston, sources said.

The Hornets would receive either Luis Scola or Kevin Martin, and possibly both, as well as draft picks. Houston owns the New York Knicks’ first-round pick from 2012, as well as its own.

The Rockets also have young assets to offer New Orleans in players like Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson and Jordan Hill.

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It is no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers would like to trade for Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, but sources with knowledge of the situation say the Lakers actually have something greater in mind: acquiring both players.

Chris Paul, Dwight Howard

Hoping to pull off a pair of blockbuster moves that would rock the NBA, the Lakers are willing to trade anyone on their roster outside of Kobe Bryant to bring Howard and Paul to Los Angeles, two sources said.

Whether the Lakers are able to make it happen remains to be seen, but with stars Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom on the roster, they have the talent and the financial capacity to make the trades work.

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A total of $161 million in escrow funds were withheld by the NBA last season, and the league office sent a stack of more than 350 checks to the Players Association last week to begin issuing the refunds.

Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett

In previous seasons, 10 percent of players’ salaries were withheld under the escrow system, and in most years only a portion was returned. But last season, the amount of salaries paid out by the 30 NBA teams came in well below 57 percent, meaning the players will get all of their withheld funds back.

In addition, the league office sent an additional $26 million in funds to the union to satisfy its obligation to pay out 57 percent of BRI.

A total of $187 million is being transferred from the owners to the players as they continue to negotiate a new CBA.

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