Football and hockey may be in full swing, but sports fans remain on edge as to whether there will be a 2011-2012 basketball season.
Last night leaders from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players union met to continue talks about a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). But after nearly five hours of discussing contentious labor-related topics, including contract lengths, salary caps and luxury taxes, the two sides failed to emerge with an agreement.
Meetings will continue this afternoon, at which time NBA Commission David Stern likely will decide whether to cancel the first two weeks of the regular season, which is supposed to begin Nov. 1.
The union and league officials also have yet to resolve revenue issues. While the team owners are unwaveringly pushing for a 50-50 split of league revenue in order to make up for about $300 million in losses each season, the players union insists on getting 53 percent of league revenue. Until now, players have been earning 57 percent of league revenue.
According to the New York Times, even if the labor dispute is resolved this week, the season may not start on time because the league will need one week to draft a new CBA, one week to sign free agents, one week for training camps and time for exhibition games.
