NBA Lockout: Owners Updated In Short Conference Call, Says Report

The owners’ NBA lockout conference call on Thursday wasn’t a robust strategy session after all, reports ESPN’s Chris Broussard. The scribe reports that the call lasted roughly 20 minutes and served only to update the owners on the current state of the 140-day-old labor stoppage that has cost hundreds of games and hundreds of millions of dollars to players and teams alike.

There are no bargaining sessions scheduled after players rejected the league’s latest offer, which included a 50-50 split of revenue (to which the players had acceded) but salary cap restraints that players felt were too restrictive and would damage player movement. As a result of the breakdown in negotiations, the players’ union’s leadership opted to dissolve, opening the gates for two anti-trust lawsuits against the league. No action on those lawsuits is expected for months, making the negotiating table the only realistic path back to the hardwood this season.