NBA lockout talks ended after seven hours on Saturday, and will pick back up after at least a day off. Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that NBA commissioner David Stern said that the league and players’ union are “closer than they were before,” but National Basketball Players Association director Billy Hunter cautioned that the two sides are still “miles and miles apart.”
NBA Lockout Talks End For Weekend With Sides ‘Closer Than They Were Before’
The talks centered around the salary cap structure and its associated rules on Saturday, as opposed to the more contentious and impactful revenue split, which dictates how much money the players earn in the aggregate each season. NBPA president Derek Fisher pitched the separation of the matters in an attempt to gain some progress where the two sides could.
Stern told reporters that the sides won’t meet on Sunday. The league and players’ union met on four of the past six days, with Saturday’s session being the longest. It’s anticipated that if a deal isn’t close by the middle of next week, the league may have to consider cancelling what’s left of the preseason and delaying the start of the regular season. Camps were supposed to open on Monday, but a week ago Stern announced a postponement of that and the cancellation of 43 exhibition games.
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