After a breakdown in talks between the National Basketball Association Players Association and NBA owners last Friday forced the league to cancel all games through Nov. 30, the two sides will hope to prevent the cancellation of more when they reconvene Saturday, according to a report Thursday from ESPN.
The cancellation of games through the end of November also meant the league would be unable to play out a full, 82- game season in 2011-2012. According to the report, Saturday's meeting could be the last chance for the players and owners to come to some sort of an agreement before commissioner David Stern has to cancel another batch of games.
The two sides have been making progress on how they will structure the salary cap when the league resumes play, the luxury tax and the mid-level exception. But there remains a gap in the percentage of basketball-related income (BRI) each side feels it should be entitled to. The owners have offered the players somewhere around 50 percent of the BRI, but the players union has been deadset on getting 52 percent.
-- For more NBA coverage, visit our league page. For the latest on lockout negotiations, visit our lockout stream.