NBA players mum on progress after crucial meeting
NEW York — Feeling a “sense of urgency” to get a deal done quickly, NBA players and owners met for more than four hours and will resume talks today.
With time running out to reach an agreement in time to save the Nov. 1 start of the regular season, All-Stars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant joined the players’ association executive committee for what president Derek Fisher called an “engaging” meeting with the owners’ labor relations committee.
Neither side cited any progress but said it was a good sign that they agreed to continue the discussions. Both sides are committed to talking through the weekend, knowing additional cancellations are likely necessary next week if they’re not close to a deal.
Both sides cautioned that it will be tough to get there this weekend.
“All I’ll say is there was a sense of urgency in the room today,” Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said.
“The sense today from both sides is we really need to push this weekend. Time is of the essence, and I don’t think there was any disagreement about that by both parties.”
Silver and Commissioner David Stern indicated the union is satisfied with the league’s plan for enhanced revenue sharing among owners — which players had long argued as a way for the league to address its losses.
The salary cap structure, however, continues to divide the sides. Players have stressed they will fight any attempt to impose a hard cap system instead of the current soft cap that allows teams to exceed it through the use of certain exceptions.
Stern emphatically denied that he would threaten to cancel the entire season this early even if things don’t go well this weekend. Still, he repeated that there would be danger in not making progress soon.
“Both sides agreed that the consequences of not making a deal lead us to the prospect of possibly at some point in the not distant future losing regular-season games,” Stern said.
There were 21 players and 10 owners in the meeting. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics, Elton Brand, Baron Davis and Andre Iguodala were among the other players who stood behind Fisher at his press conference after the session. /ap
