The discussions began quietly Tuesday and
are expected to continue through the Thanksgiving holiday, the people told The
Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the talks were supposed
to remain confidential.
The talks between representatives of the
owners and players are now centered on settling their lawsuits: The players
filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league in Minnesota
and the league filed a pre-emptive suit in New York
Because the union disbanded, it
cannot negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, but the settlement
talks could lead to that. The CBA can only be completed once the union has
reformed.
Neither side commented on the talks,
first reported by Yahoo Sports, though the league said in a statement it
“remains in favor of a negotiated resolution” to the lockout.
The news revived the hopes of saving the
Christmas slate, when the league schedules some marquee matchups to kick off
its national TV package. The NBA finals rematch between Dallas and Miami
Commissioner David Stern has said it
would take about 30 days from an agreement to the start of the regular season,
meaning a deal may need to be reached by the end of this week.
The league had wanted to open a 72-game
schedule on Dec. 15, pushing the start of the playoffs and finals back a week,
if players had agreed to the last offer. But players rejected the owners’ most
recent proposal on Nov. 14, announcing instead they were disbanding the union
to pave the way to sue the league. Kobe Shoes New Style
David Boies, one of the attorneys
representing the players, has repeatedly said he hoped the league would be
compelled to settle rather than risk a potentially lengthy trial that could end
with players being awarded about $6 billion in damages.
When talks broke down, the sides were
still divided over the division of revenues and certain changes sought by
owners to curb spending by big-market teams that players felt would limit or
restrict their options in free agency. Owners are insistent on a 50-50 split of
basketball-related income. Union officials indicated they could be open to
that, even though they were guaranteed 57 percent in the old CBA, but only if
the league conceded on some of the “system” issues.
With the union no longer representing the
players, it was unclear who was involved in the new round of talks. NBPA
executive director Billy Hunter is officially part of the players’ legal team
so he’s able to take part in the talks, though his participation in
negotiations could strengthen the league’s contention that the disclaimer
strategy was a “sham” and the union hadn’t really gone anywhere. Kobe Shoes New
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