The Warriors have been trying to get a top-notch center for some time, and they paid a steep price to get Bogut because they gave up one of the NBA's top scoring guards in Ellis...

How many ways is this a bad trade?

1) Bogut is out for the rest of the year with a fractured ankle. Not something you come back from with no long term issues (see Curry).

2) The Warriors tack on about $25M more in salaries over the next two years.

3) They basically traded away their best scorer AND best defender for Captain Jack.

4) They lose Kwame Brown's expiring $7M contract which could have been excellent trade bait.

The only way this trade even begins to make sense is if Bogut can be better than he has ever been. Given his immaturity and propensity for injury, I have a hard time seeing that happening. Jackson may have another renaissance in the Bay Area but he's also 4 years older and declining which makes the likelihood of that happening very low.

If the rumors were true that another trade was available and turned down, then it's just business as usual for the inept front office and ownership, no matter who's in charge.

The Golden State Warriors have made it clear to the New Jersey Nets that they want more than just Brook Lopez if they are going to get Monta Ellis in return.

I don't understand why the Warriors would not do a straight-up Lopez for Ellis deal. Yes, Monta is a phenomenal scorer but he also costs $11M a year for the next 3 years whereas Lopez is at $3M and $4M for 2012 and 2013. But money aside, talented 7 foot centers don't come along every day. Especially ones that can easily become 20pt/10rb guys. A shooting guard's performance can more easily be replaced. Think of it this way, would you rather have a starting five of Curry/Ellis/Wright/Lee/Biedrins or Curry/Klay/Wright/Lee/Lopez? Klay may be 40% of Ellis in terms of production (and improving) but Biedrins is about 10% of the production that Lopez would give you (and falling). Make. The. Trade.

(The Lakers) never had (Lin) under contract and aren't in the regretful state of mind of Golden State or Houston, but they discussed signing him two months ago when he was a free agent.

This story is ridiculous. Houston's GM may have officially regretted letting Lin go but the Warriors had no reason to keep him or feel regret about letting him go.  And they don't.  The fact of the matter is that Lin was playing behind two better guards - Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. Don't for a second think that Lin's current hot streak means he is a better player than either of these two. He's done it for 4 games. Let him try doing it for a season or two before we crown him the next great guard.

And I'm not hating on Lin. I think his underdog story is great and I root for him because of his Bay Area ties. But never for a second think he would have displaced Monta or Stephen in the starting line up this season. And think about it this way. Lin should be thanking the Warriors and Rockets for cutting him. He fell into an ideal situation by playing for the guard depleted Knicks in a D'Antoni scheme that allows guards to flourish. And mark the words of Kobe - "Enjoy it. They'll receive judgement next season." When teams start focusing on Lin, will he still continue to put up these numbers? That's the true test of any great NBA player. Can they still perform when defenses are designed to stop them? Now that Lin's profile is so high, you can bet his future opponents will game plan for him. Here's hoping he can learn and improve.

...noting that it will cease production out of respect for Jobs and following "immense pressure" from lawyers representing Apple and Jobs' family.

I wrote about this earlier. Glad to see appropriate action was taken. I had a discussion with some friends about why I felt something like this was wrong but could care less if say someone printed a bunch of non-NBA licensed Monta Ellis jerseys and sold them. First off, this is clearly someone trying to cash in on someone else's death. There's just something morbid about that. And two, it's more "human" than say counterfeiting a jersey or putting someone's name on a product to trick people into thinking they endorse it. You're taking someone's very likeness/image and profiting from it. That's where it crosses the line for me. Would I have been as bent out of shape if say it was Amy Winehouse or Dan Wheldon? Probably not because I don't have a strong opinion about these people. But in principal I still would think it's wrong and would have no issue with their families suing the profiteers.