Peachtree Hoops: NBA Lockout: Meetings Resume As The Clock Continues To Tick

[Hawksquawk]

The NBA Owners and the Player's Association will resume talks on Thursday with all of the heavy hitters in attendance. Training camps are becoming endangered as a deal will need to be reached by around October 1 for everything to start on time as it is currently scheduled. 

When reports leak out about Thursday's meeting we will likely find out if either side made any headway with their internal meetings last week. Reportedly the biggest issue remaining between the two sides is that of a hard salary cap that is being pursued by the owners. The players have offered to lesson their take of basketball related income from 57 percent all the way down to 53 which is a pretty substantial concession. However, talks broke down last week over issues of the hard cap. 

It is possible that David Stern can convince the union to move off of the hard cap demands but will likely seek something a little more restrictive in terms of the cap than what was previously in place. There has also been a report that the owners are seeking to include a couple of amnesty provisions in the new CBA that would seemingly allow teams to get salary cap relief from a bad contract. 

As we get closer to October 1, all of these meetings get bigger in terms of their importance. If a deal is not struck by Oct 1, the league may have to adjust its preseason schedule first. If a deal isn't struck soon after that though then the regular season would soon likely be in jeopardy. 

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