NBA labor negotiations expected to continue Thursday

Attorneys for the NBA and the players union met Wednesday in advance of a session Thursday that is expected to include NBA Commissioner David Stern and union head Billy Hunter, according to a basketball official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The owners locked out players on July 1 and the two sides have failed to make progress toward a new labor agreement.

The NBA is pushing for a reduction in players'  salaries and wants a hard salary cap to make more teams profitable. The union has offered to reduce the players’ share of basketball revenue but also wants the league to institute a major revenue-sharing plan to help weaker teams.

After last week’s negotiating session, Hunter said he was “a bit pessimistic” that the NBA regular season would open as scheduled on Nov. 1.

There is a sense of urgency to the negotiations because NBA training camps are supposed to start Oct. 3, with the first exhibition games six days later.

--Lance Pugmire

Photo: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, right, and NBA Commissioner David Stern last week at the NBA owners meeting in Dallas. Credit: AP Photo / LM Otero.