NEW YORK — They spent seven hours in the room together Saturday, and they didn’t even talk about the split of revenues. Instead, owners and players trying to negotiate an end to the NBA lockout discussed aspects of the soft cap system they will operate under once they get a deal done.

And when might that be?

It is now looking like the latter part of next week is the drop dead date for saving the scheduled Nov. 1 start of the regular season.

“I don’t know whether the 11th hour is Tuesday or not,” Hunter said. “Clearly they decided the had to cancel some of the preseason, and the question is going to be one of whether they’re going to be compelled to actually begin to start canceling games. We haven’t quite gotten there yet, but time is moving in that direction. And its a question of whether or not that has the kind of impact one would hope it would have to bridge the gap, but it’s a pretty wide gulf.”

No talks will be held Sunday (at least that was what David Stern and Billy Hunter said publicly. I would not put it past them to meet privately Sunday night. They had one or two super-secret private meetings in 1998 when the start of that season was in jeopardy).

There will be a small negotiating session Monday with Stern, Hunter and their top advisors, and the owners’ and players’ full bargaining committees will reconvene on Tuesday.

Both Stern and Hunter said Friday’ session, in which Stern and Dwyane Wade had a verbal confrontation, was healthy for the process. But they would not say whether it led to any tangible progress in their negotiations on system issues.

“It was mellow,” Hunter said of Saturday’s seven-hour session – the longest session, time-wise, that the sides have spent together since the lockout was imposed the night of June 30. “From my perspective, the owners had to come to some understanding as to where the union and the players are, and to see the resolve that players have, and I think that was conveyed yesterday when we had all the marquee players come in. They’re anxious to get a deal, but our mantra hadn’t changed in that it’s got to be a fair and equitable deal.”

Said Stern: “It was very helpful to have a large group of players in, and to have the owners here. If was a healthy exchange, and that’s a good thing.”

I still believe they are going to find a way to get this deal done in the next several days, but my optimism is now slightly beginning to wane. One thing that is propping it up: Both Stern and Hunter seemed unusually perky after Saturday’s talks. They wouldn’t be that way if things were utterly hopeless. So stay tuned.

http://sheridanhoops.com/2011/10/01/lockout-talks-to-resume-monday-unless-something-secret-happens-sunday/

TheGame wrote:The players are never going to agree to anything below 50% of BRI. A 50/50 split seems more than fair. You reduce the MLE down to $4.2 mil, you limit contracts to 4/5 years, you have a two tiered luxury tax of $1 for the first $20 million over the limit, and $2 for anything else, and then you improve the revenue-sharing system. You give everyone a 1 or 2 player amnesty to get their cap in order, and from there, no well-managed NBA team should lose money under this system. Once the economy improves and the new NBA TV deal is signed, the teams will be making plenty of money.

sounds good to me, but I have no vested stake in this other than a fan.

Maybe this is where everyone settles but the game is to try to get the best deal. Players think "not getting my money" and owners are dug in to see this thru.

At every negotiation is the bottom line. Its just the posture to get their.

Wede may be frustrated because he passed on money to stay in Miami to be with his super friends. Now that contract will further be reduced and they have to give up Miller to make it work. What he and Lebron might have to digest is their self centered act of collusion might have been the very action that broke the whole thing down. Not saying they did anything wrong, but players doing what they did, and Melo forcing Denver between a rock and a hard place really enflamed things. At least the Knicks gave them a boat load in return for Melo.

Placing blame is not that important. These are just my opinions.

Personally I like a system of not just revenue sharing but PROFIT sharing. Players get a nice base salary but then get bonus for profits earned by team and for performance. It engages the player to the team and community and holds them accountable. They sort of have a vested stake in the team and its success. The locker room environment might change over time.

I don't know how this is done but it just jives with my common sense. Whats left of it.