NBA talks go forward; deal said to be close.
NEW YORK - An agreement on an NBA collective bargaining agreement is expected by the end of the month after an 11-hour meeting Friday ended with an NBA source saying "both sides are very optimistic."
Commissioner David Stern, union director Billy Hunter and several owners, including the Rockets' Les Alexander, and players met at a Manhattan hotel, the first substantive talks in weeks on a new agreement to replace the seven-year deal expiring June 30.
"We made significant progress today and tonight," deputy commissioner Russ Granik said.
"We took some positive steps forward today. There will be some follow-up this weekend, and we'll reconvene Tuesday," Hunter also said in a statement.
Source: Houston Chronicle.
League, union back bargaining.
Attempting to avoid a July 1 lockout, NBA owners and players agreed last night that they had made major strides toward a new collective bargaining agreement during yesterday's marathon bargaining session.
"We made significant progress today and tonight," NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said in a statement after the two sides met for nearly 12 hours at an undisclosed location in Manhattan. Afterward, union officials agreed there had been "a lot of progress."
While neither side said a deal was imminent, the fact the sides have agreed to meet in small groups this weekend and again with their larger contingents on Tuesday has to be an encouraging sign. The current deal runs out June 30 and commissioner David Stern said the other day he would lock out the players July 1 if an accord was not reached.
Stern and union chief Billy Hunter led their respective sides yesterday in the first substantial talks since June 1. But unlike those talks, which broke off after only two hours, yesterday's session covered a wide range of issues, with the biggest being how to divide $3 billion in annual revenue. In a statement last night, Hunter said, "We took some positive steps forward." A union source agreed, saying it appeared that "a lot of brush has been cleared away."
Source: NY Daily.
That's great news for every basketball fan.
