Lakers News and Rumors: Pau Gasol Will Not Accept Pay Cut To Ease Los Angeles Lakers 2014' NBA Salary Cap

With Dwight Howard gone, Pau Gasol is expected to play a bigger role for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2013-14 NBA season, which could be his last season with the squad depending on the direction management is planning.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, Gasol, who will be in the final year of his contract with the Lakers, is aware of several possibilities, but he vowed to be at his best in order to convince the Lakers' front office that he should stay with the team.

"If I perform well, am reliable and put up a great season, then I'm sure the Lakers will have interest in extending me maybe before the season is over. We'll see if there's interest or not. Then we'll go from there," said Gasol, who is set to earn $19.3 million next season.

The Lakers could go into a different direction in the next few seasons with only three players under contract after the upcoming season. They are poised to attract big-named free agents next offseason, but that depends on how their negotiations with Gasol and their superstar Kobe Bryant will go.

When Gasol was asked if he is willing to take a huge pay cut to give the Lakers financial flexibility, the 33-year-old forward/center said that he wants to finish his career with the franchise, but money could be an issue.

"Probably not," Gasol said when asked about the possibility of taking a lower salary. "You have to explore your options, but I would like to continue to play for the Lakers and maybe finish my career here. But you have to see the cards on the table."

Gasol was a key figure in the recent title runs of the Lakers. After he was acquired by the franchise in trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, Gasol helped the Lakers reach the Finals three times, winning two titles, including the one against their rival Boston Celtics in 2010.

However, Gasol's performance went down in the past two seasons, averaging career-lows of 17.4 and 13.7 points, respectively. But despite struggling in the last two years, the Spanish superstar said that he has moved on and he is more focused on the upcoming task at hand.

"Those are two seasons that have already passed that I already moved on from, learned from and experienced. I learned from everything just to deal with adversity. Not everything is going to go great," Gasol said.