NBA Lockout: Players Looking For Ownership Concessions, According To Report

The NBA lockout negotiations are continuing through the weekend, with Players Association president Derek Fisher back in the fold, and many are once again predicting that the end of the work stoppage is near. The players have decided, though, that they want to see more changes before agreeing to a deal that would allow them to play basketball on Christmas.

Along with Fisher, the players will bring attorney Jeffrey Kessler -- either by phone or in-person, according to Sports Illustrated’s Zach Lowe -- and a handful of proposals that would allow them to feel more comfortable about accepting any sort of deal, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

Broussard tweeted on Thursday evening that the players want full four-year mid-level exceptions available to them each season, an increase in the “mini-midlevel contract” for teams above the salary cap, sign and trade deals available to all teams, higher qualifying offers for restricted free agents and the ability for maximum contracts to be worth 30 percent of the salary cap -- not 25 percent, and currently planned.

In addition to that, the players would also prefer a 10 percent cap on the escrow system and fewer penalties for teams that continue to operate in the luxury tax, an ask that basically further eliminates the idea of the “hard cap” that has been intermittently discussed.

It seems like the players are expecting quite a bit to change on Friday, according to Broussard’s tweets, but the majority of these concessions have been sticking points through the last few negotiating sessions.