After two days of meetings, NBA officials and players will resume talks on Friday to try to end the lockout and resume play on Christmas Day, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Representatives of the owners and players met in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday, as Y! Sports first reported, and discussed the possible settlement of the players’ recent antitrust lawsuits – which would essentially be an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. These are no longer considered collective bargaining talks but rather a settlement of pending litigation.
While the two sides have enough time to negotiate a deal for a shortened schedule for the 2011-12 season, they likely would have to reach agreement no later than this weekend if the league also hopes to save its showcase games scheduled for Christmas. NBA commissioner David Stern has repeatedly said the league would need about 30 days after an agreement is reached before the season could start. The league could still find a way to start on shorter than 30 days notice, but not more than several days, sources said.
Negotiations between the two sides broke off on Nov. 14 after the union decided to disband. Players Association president Derek Fisher(notes) wasn’t in New York for the meetings this week, but could return as soon as Friday, sources said.
— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports
