The NBA players union rejected David Stern’s latest offer yesterday, and now the league cancelled more games through December 15.  The lockout is in complete disarray as the players plan to disband the union and file an antitrust lawsuit against the league.

“The union decided in its infinite wisdom that the proposal would not be presented to membership [for a vote],” Stern told ESPN.

Executive director Billy Hunter and union president Derek Fisher said that court proceedings could be long, so the 2011-2012 season is in greater danger of being missed.

The players rejection also denies them of their first paycheck, which equals around $220,000.

NBA commissioner David Stern concluded Thursday’s meetings with an offer of a 72-game season that would begin December 15.

This proposal actually downgraded from the union’s acceptance of a 50/50 split of annual Basketball Related Income earlier this week, which upset the union leaders in attendance.

“It’s not the greatest proposal in the world,” Hunter said.  ”But I have an obligation to at least present it to our membership.  So that’s what we’re going to do.”

If the deal is accepted, Stern plans to open the season with a compressed free-agency period, and training camp will start after a 10-day resolve of ancillary items.

However, sources say they expect the deal to be rejected.  It features similarities of a hard cap that the union disagreed with since day one of the lockout.  The two main elements of Stern’s latest proposal are:

• A rise of the mini mid-level exception from $2.5 million every other season to $3 million every season.
• The creation of the additional $2.5 million exception for teams that qualify.

If this proposal is accepted, the players would only miss one paycheck, and the length of the season would be a lot longer than originally expected, considering Stern planned to cancel the entire year.

What could have been a major turning point in the NBA lockout ended up as a day dreaded by fans all week.  After many threats from commissioner David Stern about canceling more games, he finally made his move yesterday.

Stern cancelled all games through November, and he said there is no way of making those games up if and when the lockout ends.

“We held out that joint hope together, but in light of the breakdown of talks, there will not be a gull NBA season under any circumstances,” he said.  ”It’s not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now.”

Basketball-related income remains the key issue preventing the lockout from ending.  The owners want a 50-50 split, but the players are not willing to go lower than 52 percent.  With both sides no closer to coming to an agreement than they were when talks resumed Friday morning, Stern worries about what is next.

The difference in percentages on the BRI is about $100 million, and NBPA executive director Billy Hunter said the players could be out $350 million for each month the players are locked out.

Reports sounded optimistic Friday morning that the lockout was nearing an end.  The players and owners tentatively agreed to a midlevel exception starting at $5 million, as well as contract lengths that would be five years for players staying with their trams and four when leaving for another.

But just like every other session during this lockout, things hit a roadblock concerning the split of the league’s revenues.

No further meetings were scheduled, so it still remains unclear when the lockout will end.

The NBA labor talks resumed today, after players and owners took a few days off following the lack of progress in front of the mediator last week.

Last weeks arguments were heated, with the owners saying they will not give players more than 50 percent of the basketball-related income.  Today’s meetings focused on the salary cap and players’ incomes.

The players association has many concerns regarding the state of the lockout, and NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter felt no different this morning.

“We’re not prepared to let them impose a system on us that eliminates guarantees, reduces contract lengths, diminishes annual contract increases, eliminates the other [salary cap] exceptions, really restricts Bird [rights for teams to exceed the cap to re-sign their own free agents.]  That’s the kind of system they want.  And we say no way.  We have fought too long, and made too many sacrifices, to get where we are.  We’re talking about a system that’s going to generate billions of dollars in the next few years and we were prepared to take a step back, to take a cut, to help them.  We have presented them with a proposal that would address all of their losses, so that minimally they have broken even.  So that’s where we are.”

Neither side is willing to budge on their position concerning the issues,  and Stern keeps threatening to cancel two more weeks of the season.  The commissioner also said he is doubtful the Christmas games will be played.

The cancellations are not official, so fans can stay somewhat hopeful that things will turn around…although that looks highly unlikely.

Although NBA Commissioner David Stern cancelled the first two weeks of the 2011-2012 regular season, players are still planning to play.

Sources say some of the top players in the league are finalizing a two-week exhibition tour, which would feature six games over four continents.  The tour is scheduled from October 30 to November 9.

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Love are expected to participate.  Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, and Tyson Chandler could also join the team.

Talks and mediations continue over the presiding lockout, but little progress is being made.  This tour would allow the players to not only presume basketball in some form, but also give them a chance to be paid.

They will receive salaries that could reach as high as $1 million, however sources say some of the money will go to charity.

NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled the first two weeks of the 2011-2012 season Tuesday, and reports say there is no end in sight for the ongoing lockout.

When asked what the fate of the rest of the season is, Stern told reporters that the remaining games are in jeopardy as days continue to pass without the two sides coming to an agreement.

The owners and players cannot come to terms on the luxury-tax system, but the union sees this as the same thing as a hard cap.  The current proposal by the owners involves a$2 tax for every $1 spent over the tax threshold, and if teams cross three times in a five year span, the price will increase to $3, or $4 for five years in a row.

The owners also wanted four year contracts for free agents re-signing with the same team and three years for players signing with new teams, while the union proposed a system of five years and four years, respectively.

The lockout affects more than just the teams and the individuals associated with each organization.  Not only will fans miss watching the action, local businesses will feel an even greater economic burden.

The Boston Globe reported that business at Boston’s The Four’s triples for Celtics’ home games, which draws 18,000 fans inside the TD Garden, as well as numerous others who flock the bars near Causeway Street to take in the action.

The Globe spoke with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, who said:

“Each Celtics home game generated an average of $1.85 million in spinoff spending for the local economy, including spending inside the area — ticket sales, food, drinks, retail — and in the surrounding neighborhood — eating, drinking, retail, and public transportation.”

It is hard to describe the atmosphere in the bars and restaurants surrounding the Garden.  The pride Boston fans have for their teams is unmatched, and it is evident on games nights.  The amount of green overshadows everything else, as fans flock the area to show their support.

Some of my greatest memories of going to games include the dinner before.  Often times, my family and I would head into the city early to grab a few slices of pizza at Halftime Pizza across the street.  The experience was sometimes overwhelming, as the line to get in the place was out the door.

Fans packed inside one of the local hotspots, sitting and standing with one another in enjoyment as they looked forward to the night ahead.  Being a fan does not just include going to games, it also involves the interaction among other fans at great places serving the public and the teams.

The lockout is not just between the players and the owners.  It prevents fans from enjoying a night out, and it keeps local institutions from providing great places for locals to experience everything that is involved in athletic contests.

Yes, the NBA is a business, but the executives and the union need to come to the realization that sports has more than a quantitative meaning; it is memories, experiences, and overall happiness that fans alike share with one another in support of a winning cause.

One month.  The NBA regular season is scheduled to begin in one month.

With meetings scheduled today, both sides are at a very crucial point in this lockout.  The Associated Press reported David Stern said there will be “enormous consequences” if progress is not made this weekend.

“Both sides agreed that the consequences of not making a deal lead us to the percent of possibly at some point in the not distant future losing regular-season games,” he said.  ”And we agreed that once you start to lose them and the players lose paychecks and the owners lose money, then positions on both sides will harden and those are the enormous consequences that I referred to in terms of trying to make a deal.”

Friday’s meeting featured star players like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.  Derek Fisher, president of the the players’ association, said he felt it was better for the owners to hear from their star players in person.

The salary cap remains the biggest issue left to be worked out.  This week, the owners softened their position on the hard cap and proposed a system of four levels of luxury tax.  That means the more a team spends, the higher they would be taxed.

Fisher, however, said the players still do not agree with that decision.  He said just because the name “hard cap” is removed, does not mean the underlying meanings go away.  They still feel the terms are the same, therefore they will not agree to it.

“There would be very few, if any, teams that would be in a position to spend over that particular number, so that’s how we feel about it at this point.  It doesn’t mean that the negotiation is over, but it’s definitely not anywhere close to where we’d be able to agree to it.”

There is one thing both sides seem to agree with.  This weekend is very important in terms of starting the season on time.

There are mixed reviews concerning the NBA meetings today between the players and the owners, but USA Today reported the two sides are still far from agreement.

“Time is running out.  The owners have their views, and we have our views,” union director Billy Hunter said.  “We’re still pretty far apart.  We just figured with the crunch of time maybe it’s imperative that the sides sit down and look at one another and size one another up.”

Apparently the previous meetings were not considered time crunches, and the preseason does not really matter.  This entire lockout has been a time crunch since it began, and the two sides definitely waited too long to sit down and sort this out.

The sort of bright news out of this dire situation is a meeting scheduled for Friday between the players and owners.  ESPN’s Chris Broussard  also reported that star players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Paul Pierce have been invited as well.

Regarding Friday’s meeting, Commissioner David Stern said:

“If we’re at a period of opportunity and great risk, the larger the group that is assembled to focus on that, the better from my perspective.”

The two main issues that need to be sorted out are the salary cap and revenue split.  The owners want a hard cap, while the players want the old soft cap to remain.  In terms of revenue, the owners want it to below 50%, but the players will only go to 53% as long as there is no hard cap.

It is September 5.  Labor Day.  The unofficial end of summer.  School is back in session.  College football is back, and by this coming Sunday, the NFL will be too.  NHL training camps are set to begin September 12.

But what about the NBA?  The lockout has been in full swing since the July, and there is no end in sight.

Following the meeting this past Wednesday, reports surfaced that a September 15 deadline was set before preseason games would start to be cancelled.  However, David Stern said this is not true, but it is approaching the time of too little too late.

Sports Illustrated reported that the two sides agreed to meet again next week.  Our fingers are crossed that both sides will let their guards down and finalize an agreement so these players can resume basketball, and give us fans something to cheer about.

A small meeting between league officials and the players association plan to meet on Wednesday to continue talks toward ending the current NBA lockout.  Commissioner David Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, union executive director Billy Hunter, and NBPA president Derek Fisher are expected to attend.

It was reported that both sides want to meet before Labor Day weekend, otherwise the 2011-2012 season could seriously be in jeopardy.  David Stern spoke with ESPN.com and said,

“If Labor Day comes and goes without us huddled in ready to kiss off our Labor Day weekend to make this deal, then we may be headed to a bad place.”

The two sides are working toward creating a new collective bargaining agreement, where owners want to cut players’ salaries and create a new salary cap.

If Stern put an asterisk on Labor Day, that would give the sides a little over a month to finish negotiations before the preseason is scheduled to start.  October 9th marks the first preseason game, and Novemeber 1st officially begins the regular season.