Friday’s NBA Labour talks end without an agreement – Next meeting on Saturday: Lockout News
On Friday, the NBA owners and the players met in New York to try and resolve the ongoing NBA labour dispute. Although the meeting failed to produce a breakthrough, it did result in another meeting scheduled for Saturday, 1st
October, 2011.
The league and the players would look at it as a positive step, yet there can be no running away from the fact that another day was lost. As time continues to slip by, the threat of a delay in the start of the season is becoming
all the more real.
NBA has already cancelled all pre-season games and the training camp and it is hard to see how the two sides would come to an agreement in time to save the November 1 start of the season. Add to this that fact, according to some
sections of media, that if the start of the season cannot be saved, there is every likelihood that the whole season will be lost.
That assertion though was shot down by both parties after the meeting, who remained committed to finding a solution even though differences still remained.
"No matter what the eventuality is," the NBA Commissioner David Stern said Friday, "the idea that we would at an early stage cancel the season is as ludicrous today as it was when it was first written [Wednesday]."
His sentiments were echoed by Billy Hunter, the Executive Director of the NBPA. Hunter called on reporters and pundits, not to make such harmful predictions.
"I would add that for those pundits, reporters, who have been speculating, I think their speculations are way off base." He opined.
A decision to hold a meeting again of Saturday was welcomed by all parties involved. The union and the NBA owners did not show much inclination to engage in talks during the first two months of the NBA lockout, but in September
the urgency has certainly picked up.
The decision to hold another meeting on Saturday comes after the two sides had held back to back sessions throughout the month. The lack of time available to the players and owners has certainly contributed in their increased commitment
and both believe it is better to reach an agreement now rather than drag it on further and let differences grow.
"We agreed that once we start to lose them and players lose pay checks and owners lose money, positions on both sides will start to harden," Stern said. "Everybody on both sides agrees that this is the time to do it."
Although, there were no new proposals made during Friday’s meeting, but for the first time in a while large contingents from both sides took part in the proceedings. They are now looking forward to engaging again on Saturday.
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