Surprise! (via the New York Times)
Top officials for the N.B.A. and the players union will meet Sunday night in a final, and unexpected, attempt to resolve the lockout before regular-season games are lost, according to a person briefed on the meeting.
The meeting will involve the primary negotiators for each side — Commissioner David Stern and the deputy commissioner Adam Silver for the league, with the union represented by its president, Derek Fisher, and its executive director, Billy Hunter.
As has been the case throughout this entire negotiation, the moment things seem to be headed in one direction, they somehow pull a u-turn.
The bottom line is both sides have gotten painfully close. If the league is offering a 50/50 split of BRI and the Union is standing firm at 53%, then it would seem a compromise is in reach. And as Ken Berger very perfectly mentioned on Twitter today, both sides have a lot more to lose if games are cancelled than if they move on this compromise.
David Stern has said Monday’s the day he’ll have to ax regular season games. We may find out tonight if it comes to that.
