Finally, for the first time in four meetings in the past week, new proposals are being exchanged between NBA owners and the players union.
Still, there were was no deal on a collective bargaining agreement after seven-plus hours of negotiations here Saturday. Meetings will resume here Monday. With training camps postponed and some preseason games canceled, the likelihood increases that the scheduled Nov. 1 start of the regular season won't occur.
"We're still miles apart," said Billy Hunter, executive director of the players' union. "There's a huge gap that I don't know if we're going to be able to close or not."
The owners have "moved off a hard salary cap but in the process they've coupled a lot of things … they think they should get in exchange," Hunter said. "If you gave into everything they're asking for you'll ultimately have a hard cap."
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In their longest bargaining session since the lockout began July 1, the sides focused mainly on one of the two major issues that divides them. Owners want a hard cap, or at least want a number of changes to the current soft cap system, which the players prefer to keep largely intact.
The sides didn't even talk about the division of revenues, the other big obstacle to a labor deal that would end the lockout.
"We're not near anything. But wherever that is, we're closer than we were before," Stern said.
There was a smaller group of players than the 21 who attended Friday, with superstars Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade (who had a heated exchange with Stern) and Chris Paul not present Saturday.
On a lighter note:
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