Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

For the last two years now Pau Gasol has been rumored to be on the trading block. At one point he was traded until Communist Stern vetoed a deal that would have sent the Spaniard to Houston.

Taking the lead of part-time owner Jim “Trust Fund” Buss the Lakers have neither confirmed nor denied that Gasol is out there for the taking.

First we’re led to believe that the team won’t make any major moves then they turn around and trade away all the bullets they had in their Dwight Howard gun to acquire Steve Nash. And it seems like every other day there is a report of some new team coming forward with an offer for Gasol.

So disgusted by the silence of the front office on the matter was Kobe Bryant that he called out Mitch Kupchak and the rest of the organization to either “make a deal or tell Pau he’s here to stay.”

Now it would appear Andrew Bynum is starting to get some of that same indifference from the front office.

With the Lakers having unloaded a large portion of their future to acquire Nash there isn’t much left in the arsenal to throw at Orlando in exchange for the indecisive diva that is Howard. Of course all along it has been reported that the Magic were more interested in Bynum than Gasol as part of a package.

Once again all is quiet on the Lakers front as not a soul has come forward to either deny or confirm there is any talk of Bynum being on the block. However that hasn’t stopped Andrew from supposedly putting together a short list of teams he’s willing to sign an extension with should he be dealt.

On Andrew’s shortlist for places of employment are Cleveland and Dallas with no mention of Orlando.

Is this just a leverage play by Bynum as he takes a page from the Howard playbook? Or is he serious about wanting to play in Cleveland should the opportunity present itself?

We don’t really know for sure but the real question is what the heck does Bynum see in Cleveland that the rest of the hoops world doesn’t? That’s a question left to be pondered for another day.

For now it would appear that Drew is getting some of the Gasol treatment as his future with the Lakers looks a little less clear. Not too long ago Jim Buss made it clear that Bynum was a building block of the future. Apparently the Lakers’ front office is divided on the Bynum building project. Maybe enough voices of dissension have convinced Trust Fund to reconsider his stance.

Or maybe Jim Buss is that last man holding onto the Bynum. Since this is his team then he has the final say so on who comes and who goes. So perhaps nothing has changed in the Bynum school of thought. But that can’t ease Bynum’s angst at the notion of being trade bait. Not after seeing how quickly Lamar Odom was moved and certainly not after seeing Gasol suck it up after being traded, untraded and then rumored to be traded all year.

At some point someone in the front office has got to speak up and let these men known where they stand. The last thing the Lakers need is another season of uncertainty.

Still, it somehow seems fitting that Odom should return to where it all started for him as he’ll be  back in Staples sporting those red, white and blue colors of the Clippers. As if the suddenly serious rivalry between the Lakers and Clippers needed more drama, along comes Odom to deal the revenge card from the bottom of the deck.

Mar 21, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) hugs former teammate Dallas Mavericks power forward Lamar Odom (7) after the game at the American Airlines Center. The Lakers defeated the Mavericks 109-93. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

While the Lakers were never going to be in the Odom market they did lose out on the Mo Williams sweepstakes. Many of us would have gladly welcomed Williams with open arms as the Lakers point guard replacing the exciting yet ultimately disappointing Ramon Sessions who is currently waiting for Saturday night to start exploring his options in free agency.

But acquiring Williams would have required a major move of some sort and as we know that’s just not allowed around the Laker organization these days.

Instead Williams will also be making an NBA homecoming as he’s off to Utah where his pro career began.

Now there wasn’t any real reason to think the Lakers were going to get into the mix to pursue Williams. We’ve been warned to lower our expectations given the part-time presence of Jim Buss and the desire to stay away from the luxury tax.

None the less the Lakers did have the financial means to acquire Williams with the all-too-ironic $8-million trade exception attained in the original Odom trade last season. How would that have been for a Hollywood storyline?

So let’s all prepare ourselves right now for the overblown spectacle that will be ESPN’s coverage of the first Lakers-Clippers game of the 2012-13 NBA season. I’m giving even odds on the first shot of the pregame being the obligatory Kobe Bryant-Lamar Odom midcourt greeting. I’ll go 5 to 1 that the halftime break will feature a close-up of Vanessa Bryant giving Khloe Kardashian an icy hug behind the bench.