We used to hear that all the time, how Ellis was the heart and soul of the Warriors and how Bogut was damaged goods and might never play enough, and how that dumb trade was the Warriors’ trademark.

We don’t hear that anymore. Monta Ellis — we wish him well — is a nice little player. But Andrew Bogut is a dynamite big player — a giant — and the Warriors have coveted a big, mean, athletic center like Bogut since the Nate Thurmond days. Bogut can rebound, block shots and the man can score.

Keep all that in mind as the Warriors prepare to play the Spurs in San Antonio tonight in the first game of their second-round playoff series.

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