NBA Lockout Talks Continue; Sides May be Inching Closer to Deal

As NBA lockout talks continue, the NBA's players union and owners are inching closer to a deal, according to Sam Amico, NBA writer and TV analyst for FOX Sports and FOX Sports Ohio. A source also told Amico that [sides] are very determined. They're close.

Officials from the NBA and players' association are meeting Wednesday, less than a week after three days of talks with federal mediator George Cohen couldn't produce a deal to end the lockout.

The sides began discussions shortly after 12 p.m. ET. Talks broke down Oct. 20 after players said owners insisted they agree to a 50-50 split of revenues before they would further discuss the salary-cap system.

There was a far nastier tone than usual to the breakdown, with Union President and Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher accusing Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver and Spurs owner Peter Holt, chairman of the league's labor relations committee, of lying during their news conference.

The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the NBA planned to cancel two more weeks of the season on Tuesday on top of another two weeks that had already been shelved from Nov. 1 to Nov. 15. But that announcement never came.

Just as they have multiple times this month, when they walked away from the table without another meeting scheduled, the sides are getting back at it relatively quickly.

David Stern said that without a deal last week, he feared games could be lost right through Christmas. The sides tried, spending 30 hours together during three straight days for the first time since the lockout began July 1. They made some progress on minor issues, but continue to be stuck on the two main ones.

Players already agreed to lower their guarantee of basketball-related income to 52.5 percent, thus surrendering more than $1 billion in salary over the next six years. This leaves the two sides about $100 million apart annually based on last season's revenues. As a result, owners seek a 50-50 split of the $4.3 billion in annual revenue that the NBA generates.

NBA owners have also complained about their $300 million in losses at the end of last season. If they were to succeed in convincing the union to accept 50 percent over the next 10 years, the proposed life of the next collective bargaining agreement, and if there's a jump in BRI, the players could lose more than $3 billion in wages over that span.

The two sides are also sparring over the length of contracts and the raises attached to them, along with the penalties teams would face for exceeding the luxury tax level.

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