Some room for optimism after players, owners meet

LOS ANGELES -- The relationship between the owners and the players appeared to thaw some Friday afternoon as both sides emerged from a two-hour meeting with an agreement to meet more often in an effort to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.

The All-Star-studded session included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul, Amar'e Stoudemire, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams and others in town for Sunday's game. The NBA's elite players also presented a united front last year during All-Star Weekend in Dallas.

"I'm worried about the league," Wade said. "It's not just about myself. It's the future of the NBA. We want to be able to be sure this game can continue to grow and prosper. We want this game to go on for many, many years.

"We understand that a deal has to be done. Both sides haven't come to an agreement and neither side is going to agree until we meet halfway. Me being one of the 'faces of the league,' it's just coming in and learning more and trying to understand what both sides are going through. That's the biggest thing."

Among the owners attending along with labor relations chair/San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt were Michael Jordan (Charlotte Bobcats), Jerry Buss (L.A. Lakers), Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks) and Donald Sterling (L.A. Clippers).

While there wasn't any movement or negotiation on the major and minor issues that make up the CBA, such as distribution of revenue or the age limit, just getting in the same room after months of a stalemate was seen as progress. National Basketball Players Association executive director Billy Hunter said the two sides plan to meet and negotiate possibly as soon as the next two weeks.

"The agreement to get together and see what we could work out ... that's what we went into the meeting trying to achieve," Hunter said. "And we're all in agreement that we will meet and we'll make every effort to see if we can make a deal."

Lakers owner Jerry Buss said: "Both sides are very much interested in making a deal."

But it's not going to be that easy. Hunter said the union is still preparing for lockout. Players have been advised for the last two years to save their money and the union has also been building a war chest. Hunter added that players are prepared to lose an entire season if compromise can't be achieved.

"If it takes that, we're willing to go there," he said. "We don't want to go there, but we're willing to suffer some pain."

The two sides have exchanged only one CBA proposal each over the last 13 months. The league formally presented its offer in January, 2010, while the NBPA countered the following July. The union said it won't submit another proposal before the league.

Union executive committee president Derek Fisher reiterated the players' position on the owners' original offer.

"What Derek did in a nice, polite, demur way was he told the owners their proposal was unacceptable without being nasty," Hunter said.

Several interesting ideas emerged from the meeting that have yet to be fleshed out as possible negotiating points. One player suggested shortening the season in exchange for some of the salary rollbacks the owners are proposing. In response to the owners insisting on a hard cap to promote competitive balance, the union suggested giving weaker teams additional draft picks.

Hunter said the league has agreed to provide additional financial documents for last season and that contraction of teams isn't a union concern. The NBPA also wants a better understanding of the league's revenue-sharing plan.

Decertification of the union is "not currently in play," Hunter said, even though the players have received information and forms on the decertification process. It's an option, Hunter said, in the event of a work stoppage.

After a virtual standstill for the last seven months, there does seem to be some room for optimism. "You look for a light or ray of hope where you can find it," Hunter said. Fisher said the "players want to play basketball" and he believes both sides are "committed" to getting a deal done.

"It takes a long time to get a deal done," Wade said. "What you want to see is that we're able to move forward and not stand still. Hopefully we can start moving forward soon."

It sounds like that may have already started.

"We're talking, we're talking," Jordan said. "That's a big step."

Art Garcia has covered the NBA since 1999. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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