Unsettled Wednesday, then cooler before heating up next week

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By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
      

NEW YORK (AP) - Derek Fisher left a meeting with NBA officials
and, as he has all summer, reported no breakthrough on a new labor
deal. Do that again Monday, and the start of the season is expected
to be called off.


      Negotiators for owners and players will meet again Monday, the
deadline Commissioner David Stern set for when there must be a deal
to avoid canceling the first two weeks of the regular season,
scheduled to begin Nov. 1.


      The two sides met for more than five hours Sunday, but didn't
even touch perhaps the biggest issue dividing them.


      "We're not necessarily any closer than we were going in
tonight, but we'll be back at it tomorrow and we'll keep putting
time in," said Fisher, the union president.


      Neither side offered any specifics, but a person with knowledge
of the talks told The Associated Press they did not discuss the
split of revenues. The person was granted anonymity because the
details were supposed to remain private.


      When they last met on Tuesday, league officials asked the union
if they would consider a 50-50 split of basketball-related
revenues. The players, guaranteed 57 percent under the previous
collective bargaining agreement, rejected that and said they were
not prepared to go below 53 percent.


      The salary cap system is the other big issue remaining. Numerous
other items remain untouched because the negotiators have spent so
much time seeking compromise on the main two.


      Fisher also said the union would postpone a regional meeting
scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles so he and other officials could
remain in New York for more talks. He and executive director Billy
Hunter had been scheduled to fly out in the morning, and he had
sent a letter to players encouraging them to attend for an update
on the negotiations.


      "We feel like our time, and our guys would want our time, to be
used in meeting and try to get closer to getting a deal done," he
said. "So instead of going forward with that meeting, we're going
to put it off and then we'll reschedule it accordingly depending on
what happens tomorrow and into the week if we continue to meet."


      No further talks had been expected this weekend. On Friday, a
person close to the union told AP that players had been seeking a
session before the deadline, but were told it came with a
precondition of agreeing to the 50-50 revenue split.


      The NBA later confirmed it wasn't prepared to move above a 50-50
split but still was open to discussing other issues, but that the
union had declined.


      Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, owners Peter Holt of San
Antonio and Glen Taylor of Minnesota, and senior vice president and
deputy general counsel Dan Rube met with Hunter, Fisher and vice
president Maurice Evans of the Wizards, and attorneys Jeffrey
Kessler and Ron Klempner.


      Stern wouldn't comment on Sunday's talks beyond saying they
would meet again Monday, adding they had an agreement with the
players not to provide any details.

Sports

Negotiators for owners and players will meet again Monday, the
deadline Commissioner David Stern set for when there must be a deal
to avoid canceling the first two weeks of the regular season,
scheduled to begin Nov. 1.

Deadline: NBA, players in danger of cancellations

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