Pau Gasol

When a Lakers icon buys the Dodgers, you can bet current Lakers take notice. Lakers stars Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol had a lot to say after the news broke Tuesday night that the group headed by Magic Johnson will be the Dodgers' new owners. "I'm upset he didn't cut me in," Bryant said jokingly. "I'm going to have to talk to him about that. " But Bryant has a hard time seeing himself ever owning a sports team. "No. Well, I mean, if it's in a big market like Los Angeles or something like that, then yeah.

Pau Gasol stepped into bright sunshine Wednesday afternoon, leaving the Lakers' training facility for perhaps the final time. Reality wasn't so bright for the often ebullient Gasol. He spoke about his future in a lengthy exit interview with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak but couldn't get any firm answers. “I wish I could have clarification but they can’t give it to me right now,” he said.

The Lakers' championship aspirations significantly hinge on whether the team can make a blockbuster deal before the March 15 deadline. Their stagnant offense significantly points to the Lakers' lacking at the point-guard spot. The Lakers need a youth injection so that the team's foundation remains in good hands once Kobe Bryant retires possibly as early as two years from now when his contract expires. Yet, it's not clear-cut that the solution to the Lakers' problems involves trading Lakers forward Pau Gasol.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol were in the Lakers' training facility on the same day, possibly for the last time. They arrived several hours apart for their exit interviews Wednesday and then stepped into the sunshine afterward, though nothing looked overly bright about the Lakers' future. "There will be some change," said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak, the sting still fresh from another ouster in the Western Conference semifinals. "When you lose before you think you should have lost, you have to open up all opportunities.

-- Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick reports that "Minnesota General Manager David Kahn Minnesota is still attempting to land Gasol, and that push is likely to continue all the way until the deadline. "  -- The Times' Mike Bresnahan explains why the Lakers have improved their play. -- The Orange County Register's Janis Carr focuses on Andrew Goudelock's progression as a rookie. -- The Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis talks to Tayshaun Prince about winning the 2004 NBA Finals against the Lakers.

Those looking for behind-the-scenes drama on how Pau Gasol handled ongoing trade speculation won't find it on HBO's "Real Sports. " Those hoping for more explanations on his unraveling in the 2011 NBA playoffs won't find answers on the critically acclaimed series, either. Instead, Gasol's segment featured Tuesday night focuses on his multifaceted interests. It mentions how Magic Johnson's announcement in 1991 that he had HIV inspired Gasol to go to medical school: "I wish I could do something in the future to cure this disease.

The shots kept clanging off the rim, but Pau Gasol didn't want to pass up open looks. So he kept firing away. But Gasol just kept missing. The Lakers lost 102-96 Sunday to the Memphis Grizzlies by the time this exercise ended, and Gasol had little to show for it. His 16 points on four-of-15 shooting featured five of those missed field goals coming off midrange jumpers. Yet Gasol said that won't deter him from taking the same shots again. “I have to keep shooting them if I'm open,” Gasol said.

Last week, on one of his rare evenings not spent in makeup sweating under a spotlight, Plácido Domingo watched from a luxury box as the resurgent L.A. Lakers dusted off the New York Knicks 100-90 at Staples Center. Down on the floor, Domingo's friend and fellow Spaniard, the power forward and center Pau Gasol, who was back in action after missing the Lakers' first 11 games with a pulled hamstring, helped lift the home team with 11 points and 16 rebounds. The following night, it was Gasol's turn to watch and applaud as he took in a performance of L.A. Opera's production of Handel's Orientalist fantasia, "Tamerlano."

After spending a season fighting age, battling immaturity, struggling with old habits and jabbing with a new coach, the Lakers have ended up where we pretty much thought they would. Out of breath and on the ropes. Their veteran star is exhausted and annoyed. Their kid center is angry and distant. Their power forward is uncertain and embattled. And their season is officially on the brink after they blew a 13-point lead in a 103-100 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday in the fourth and perhaps deciding game of their first-round playoff series.

The burning question before March 15 involves whether the Lakers will make a trade. Will Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum still remain on the team? Can the Lakers upgrade at point guard? Or will executive Jim Buss make the roster even worse? But those aren't the only things worrying Laker fans. The purple & gold just lost two consecutive games to the lowly Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards. Frustration has mounted over Mike Brown's offense. Kobe Bryant's approach in switching his mask and increasing fatigue have correlated to a shooting dropoff.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Andrew Bynum was right. Close-out games can be easy. The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped all over the Lakers in the fourth quarter of their 106-90 Game 5 victory Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, ending the Lakers' season yet again in the Western Conference semifinals. It wasn't as bad as last season's 36-point blowout loss in Dallas, and there won't be any carry-over suspensions for next season, but the two-championship run the Lakers put together couldn't have seemed any further in the past.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- As the red and blue streamers dropped from the sky around the fallen Lakers faces, it felt like more than the end of a series. With "Takin' Care of Business" thumping and thousands rhythmically clapping around the staggering Lakers bodies, it felt like more than the end of a season. What happened here on a strange and sad Monday night felt like the end of an era. PHOTOS: Lakers vs. Thunder, Game 5 Kobe Bryant's window to win a sixth championship in Los Angeles may have officially shut, and who knows whether he will want to stick around to spend his final years pressing his nose against the glass?

After spending a season fighting age, battling immaturity, struggling with old habits and jabbing with a new coach, the Lakers have ended up where we pretty much thought they would. Out of breath and on the ropes. Their veteran star is exhausted and annoyed. Their kid center is angry and distant. Their power forward is uncertain and embattled. And their season is officially on the brink after they blew a 13-point lead in a 103-100 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday in the fourth and perhaps deciding game of their first-round playoff series.

I'm sitting here watching a game the Clippers have no chance of winning and it's still a hoot. Who gets up for a game when already down three games to none to the Spurs and losing the last one after being up by 24? The Clippers should be deflated, but they are winning, 75-74, after three quarters. Their playoff run is over, and yet they don't seem to know it. Inspired effort is what fans have been getting from the Clippers all season long, and right now there are 19,000 fans on their feet.

Some things to take from the Lakers' 99-96 Game 3 victory Friday over the Oklahoma City Thunder. 1. The Lakers salvaged their season. I'll break down the particulars, but a Game 3 victory ensured the Lakers 2011-12 season remains intact. Yeah, there's still a Game 4, but there's no way the Lakers would overcome a 3-0 deficit. It's even debatable the Lakers would duplicate their Game 4 embarrassment last season against the Dallas Mavericks.

When Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher were teammates, Bryant used to joke about the lopsided results of their one-on-one games at the Lakers practice facility. On Friday evening, he proved that he wasn't just bragging. Fisher guarded Bryant on two possessions in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the Lakers Western Conference Semifinal series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The mismatch resulted in consecutive baskets for Bryant. In the first sequence, Bryant shot a 14-foot turnaround fade away jumper over Fisher to tie the game at 76-76 with 8:17 remaining.

The Lakers can forget about trying to get Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. The Lakers won't get him before Thursday's trade deadline at noon PDT. Nor will they get him during the free agency signing period in July. ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard first reported that Howard has waived his early termination option and will stay with the Magic through the 2012-13 season.  That has an instant trickle effect on the Lakers' front-office dealings. One, it's safe to say Lakers center Andrew Bynum will remain a Laker.

Some things to keep an eye on when the Lakers (23-15) visit the Minnesota Timberwolves (21-19) Friday at Minneapolis' Target Center. 1. Will the Lakers play with effort? It's downright offensive that the public has to wonder whether the Lakers will do that, especially after losing two consecutive games to Eastern Conference dwellers the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards. But it's a fair question to ask. It remains to be seen whether this will spark the Lakers into fuller intensity or lead to more divisions within the team over Mike Brown.

For several moments, Pau Gasol began to tear up.He was talking about how winning the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award "means a lot" and is a "great honor" and it was obvious those were more than just words as he began thinking about all the sick children he's visited on various trips as a UNICEF ambassador.