Los Angeles Lakers Derek Fisher, president of the NBA players, (R), speaks at a news conference alongside Executive Director of the NBA player's association Billy Hunter after holding another round of unsuccessful contract negotiations between the NBA and the NBA Players Association in New York, November 10, 2011. REUTERS/Jessica RinaldiJessica Rinaldi/Reuters
The NBA players' association is expected to confer with player reps from each team Monday in a session that could decide the fate of the 2011-12 season, according to a report.
Multiple sources told SI.com the meeting would take place in New York on Monday morning.
The sources said that along with talking about the latest proposal from the owners, the players were strongly considering the option of decertifying the union, as a drastic step in the negotiations, which would result in a legal skirmish.
Commissioner David Stern has said the owners have left their best offer on the table and would no longer negotiate.
The sources told SI.com there is a thought Stern might be bluffing and that some counter-offers could be made.
Along with the gap in the sides' negotiations, there will be emotions with which to deal. Players and agents have been upset, according to the report, because they offered another concession economically in the last negotiating round and didn't feel they received a strong enough concession from the owners on "system issues."
The players had insisted on 52.5 per cent of basketball-related income during most of the talks, down from 57 per cent in the last collective bargaining agreement. But they dropped even further to a 50-50 split Tuesday, but didn't get the response on system concessions for which they had hoped, according to the report.
Stern has also played hardball, according to The New York Times, which reported of a letter in which he threatened to drop the players' share to 47 per cent, include salary rollbacks of existing contracts, feature a hard salary cap and cut the length of player contracts.
To decertify, the union needs a petition of at least 30 per cent. More than 200 players are set to opt for that route, according to SI.com, which would more than reach the number necessary.
The National Labor Relations Board could then take 45 to 60 days to mull the petition.
At the point, the season could be in jeopardy with a long, legal stand-off ahead. The players hope instead the danger of an antitrust lawsuit would prompt the league to be more flexible, according to the report.
But the league has already filed a lawsuit, in August, that the lockout is legal, but that union decertification would be illegal. Recently, Stern appeared on ESPN and said the players' guaranteed contracts could be lost due to such action.