The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires on June 30 and a lockout is set to be imposed by owners if a new deal cannot be reached. The NBA would become the second major league in North America to suffer a work stoppage this year after the National Football League owners activated a lockout in March.
However, the two sides of the NBA discussions said that progress had been made during a four-hour session on Wednesday, and League and union representatives plan to meet again in Dallas on June 7-8 when the NBA Finals move to Texas next week. “It’s still our hope that there may be a deal here to be done,” Stern told Yahoo! Sports. “We’re going to test it to the limits. If we’re wrong, we’re wrong.”
Stern added that although both sides remain “quite far apart”, he believes there is enough time to secure a new deal. “I’d say that we had a really good discussion,” he said. “The idea was for owners and players to exchange views, and there was a full and complete exchange...but it’s important for the parties to hear each other out.”
Players’ union executive director Billy Hunter, who had previously said he was “99% sure” of a work stoppage this summer, added that this week’s talks were “much more fluid than we’ve had in some time”.
Hunter continued: “We know the pressure is building, and if anything is going to happen, it’s going to have to happen between now and June 30. We’re going to make every effort to see if we can make a deal. If we don’t, we don’t. It’s not going to be for a lack of trying.”
