Sources: Atlanta's expressing its intentions to rivals that Hawks plan to keep team intact at deadline, holding onto Horford and key guards. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 18, 2016

Sources: Rockets, Jazz had casual talks on Ty Lawson, but those ended. Both teams moved on. Another thing: Rockets won't buy out Lawson. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 18, 2016

Six-time All-Star center Pau Gasol holds significant interest in signing a contract extension with the Chicago Bulls this summer and has strongly resisted the idea of a trade that would turn him into a two-month rental, league sources told The Vertical.

Bulls general manager Gar Forman has been discussing trades on several fronts involving Gasol, although some teams interested in Gasol worry that his love for Chicago could cloud his motivation in fully committing to a short-term stay for the rest of the season, league sources said.

Gasol, 35, plans to decline the player option on the $7.7 million owed to him in 2016-17, but has significant interest in signing a new deal to remain with the Bulls, league sources said.

The Bulls have discussed deals with multiple NBA teams on Gasol, but one discussion lingered on Wednesday, league sources told The Vertical’s Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix: Gasol and Tony Snell to the Sacramento Kings for Kosta Koufos, Ben McLemore and a lowering of the lottery protections on the 2016 first-round pick that Sacramento owes the Bulls.

The pick is protected Nos. 1-10, but the Bulls and Kings discussed lowering the protections further to give Chicago a better chance of obtaining use of the pick in 2016, league sources told The Vertical.

The Kings reached out to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, too, league sources said, because the Sixers have the right to swap picks with the Kings’ on the 2016 pick. The Kings wouldn’t be able to complete the deal involving the pick with Chicago unless they could reach an agreement with Philadelphia. The Sixers were preparing to ask for a further sweetener to allow the Kings to move on a deal with Chicago, league sources said.

Gasol is averaging 17 points and 10.9 rebounds for the struggling Bulls.

As the Los Angeles Clippers delay a decision on completing a deal for Orlando Magic forward Channing Frye, the Magic are becoming more motivated to move Frye to Cleveland into a trade exception, league sources told The Vertical.

Channing Frye (Getty Images) More

The Cavaliers can absorb Frye’s $8.2 million salary into a $10.5 million trade exception.

The Clippers told the Magic they need until Thursday morning to decide on a deal that would send Frye to the Clippers for Lance Stephenson, C.J. Wilcox and a second-round pick, league sources said.

The Magic have no desire to bring back Anderson Varejao’s contract in a deal, league sources said. Varejao’s deal includes two years and nearly $19 million guaranteed. The Cavaliers are searching out teams with space, such as Philadelphia and Portland, which could take on Varejao’s contract as part of a three-team trade, league sources said.

Those teams would likely be compensated with draft considerations and cash to take on Varejao. For this reason, the Cavaliers won’t take on Frye without finding a home for Varejao’s deal: Those two contracts together on Cleveland’s roster would push the team’s luxury tax bill from $61 million to nearly $96 million in 2016.

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