--The Times' Mike Bresnahan talked to legal experts who believed that, regardless of the outcome, the court case will prove to be a drawn-out process. That's the first sign of the so-called "nuclear winter."

--NBA.com's Steve Aschburner notes that settlement talks may be the next step in lockout negotiations. 

--Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick blames both sides for the current work stoppage. 

--The next step for the players union involves filing a motion for summary judgment, asking for three times the amount of salary players lose during the lockout. CBSSports.com's Ken Berger estimates that reaches $2 billion in two months.

--The Orange County Register's Kevin Ding faults the players' agents for their involvement with the NBA lockout. 

--Ball Don't Lie's Kelly Dwyer looks at what's in the store for the remaining lockout. 

--ESPN Los Angeles' Dave McMenamin notes Steve Blake disputing Shannon Brown's account that he wanted players to accept a deal. McMenamin also talks to an anonymous NBA player about the lockout.

--Lakers.com's Mike Trudell profiles assistant coach Darvin Ham. 

--Fox Sports' Billy Witz argues the owners can salvage the season. 

Tweet of the day: "You can divide Micky Arison's tweets into 3 categories: 1) Food; 2) Carnival cruise promotions; 3) Quickly deleted tweets on banned topics." -- ZachLowe_SI (Sports Illustrated's Zach Lowe)

-- Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com