Though NBA commissioner David Stern's 5 p.m. deadline for the players union to accept the terms of his latest collective bargaining proposal has passed, the two sides are still in meetings to hammer out a new deal and end the lockout, according to a report from the Associated Press.
On Monday, Stern had offered the players a deal in which they would receive between 49 and 51 percent of basketball-related income (BRI) and told them if the NBA Players Association did not accept by 5 p.m. Wednesday, the next proposal would leave them with only 47 percent of the BRI. Union officials have said that the deal Stern proposed would not allow them to have any more than 50.2 percent of BRI and on Tuesday, union president Derek Fisher publicly stated that he would not accept the deal.
As a result, meetings were scheduled Wednesday morning for the players and owners to negotiate in small groups. The meetings began at about 1 p.m. and have continued since.