The NBA owners spent 16 hours negotiating with the players on Tuesday. The marathon talks lasted from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, more than doubling the longest negotiations the two sides have had so far. A deal was not completed during the talks, but if there is any silver lining it is that the owners agreed to meet again Wednesday.
Federal mediator George Cohen requested that neither side comment on the negotiations, but one source speaking with anonymity said that while it is a good sign that the owners didn't break the talks off, it would be foolish to presume and serious progress was made.
Commissioner David Stern had been vocal about wanting significant progress on Tuesday, thinly veiling that a lack of progress could lead to the cancellation of games on Christmas Day. The first two weeks of the season, 100 games, have already been canceled. It marks the first work stoppage in the NBA since the 1998-1999 season.
