Under the current labor agreement, players can sign with their old team for as long as seven years; or six years if they decide to switch teams.
Owners initially asked that those maximums be reduced to four years for players staying with the same team and three years for players changing teams. They have since moved their position to six years and five years.
No negotiating sessions have taken place in recent days, and no new talks are scheduled. Stern sent a letter to the players' union last week outlining the owners' positions, saying he is open to meeting to resume bargaining talks.
Union director Billy Hunter, who has been traveling around the country to meet with players, is not believed to have responded yet to Stern's letter. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Stern tried to stress that the owners, despite coping with rising insurance, fuel and security costs in recent years, had authorized him to make several sweetened offers over the course of bargaining talks, which were at their steadiest in March and April.
There was a public breakdown in talks in mid-May, and the sides adjourned again less than two weeks ago after meeting two more times and failing to make much, if any, progress.
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