The players made their move yesterday saying they will accept a 50/50 BRI split for some system concessions. Now, are the owners really willing to blow up the season over stuff like the level of the mid-level exception, sign-and-trades for luxury tax teams and other issues like that? Is losing basketball for a year really worth it for those things?
We'll find out today. The good news: Chris Broussard is reporting that the two sides are finalizing details for a meeting around 1 p.m. this afternoon. Hopefully, David Stern can hold off the hard-line owners who want the players to concede even more.
You all probably know how I feel about this, but just to put it out there: the players have conceded enough. If they're truly willing to do a 50/50 BRI split, it'll cover most, if not all, of the league's losses. Now, it's time for the owners to move themselves so basketball can return.
UPDATE: More good news from Woj.
“There can be a few things tweaked along the edges, the periphery and this can be agreed upon,” one ownership source told Yahoo! Sports. “I’m confident that would not be an issue if [Stern] did that.”
“It will be a very slight budge,” one high-ranking management source said.
UPDATE: Meeting at 1 p.m. is on. Sounds like it's a small group meeting.