When National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern meets with club owners later this week to discuss collective bargaining negotiations, the best he'll be able to provide them with is an update.
A new collective bargaining agreement, the rules negotiated between the league and union that govern all player contracts, remains elusive despite at least 12 meetings between the two sides and it became clear Tuesday that the regular season will end without a new deal in place.
"It certainly has been our goal to get it done as soon as possible. Without putting a date on it, every day we don't have it, in our view, is not a good thing," Stern said in his annual pre-playoff conference call with reporters.
PHOTO: AFP
Union negotiators traveled across town to the league's Manhattan offices Tuesday morning and met for about two hours with NBA officials. No details of the meeting were disclosed.
The league's Board of Governors will meet at a Manhattan hotel later this week, and Stern will deliver a briefing on the state of negotiations.
Both sides have been publicly silent about the discussions being conducted behind closed doors, although people involved in the negotiations have indicated that significant differences remain to be bridged on issues including a possible increase in the minimum age of players, salary cap and luxury tax thresholds, maximum length of contracts and the size of year-to-year increases that will be permitted in future long-term player contracts.
An increase in the age limit has been one of the most publicly debated issues. Under current rules, a US player's high school class must have graduated in order for him to become eligible for the draft, while international players must turn 18 before the draft in order to be eligible.
"If the age limit were to be raised, the people who were below ... would have an opportunity to play internationally, or in college, or in the minor leagues. We don't see that as a controversy," Stern said. "It means that an 18-year-old would be treated the same way as a 17-year-old.
"If they [the union] and we agree to it, then it can be implemented [for] the draft in 2006," Stern said.
Union director Billy Hunter and union president Michael Curry did not return calls seeking comment.
The current collective bargaining agreement expires June 30 at 11:59pm, and the sides hope to avoid a repeat of the seven-month lockout that transpired the last time they had to work out a new labor agreement seven years ago.
NBA roundup
LeBron James and Robert Traylor made sure their team would play at least one more meaningful game, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Boston Celtics 100-86 Tuesday night.
James had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Traylor came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points and Eric Snow added a season-high 13 assists for the Cavs (41-40), who remained tied with New Jersey for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
"We took care of business," said James, who scored a career-high 56 points on his last visit to Toronto. "We're going to need some help. Hopefully, Boston plays as hard as they did against us and gets a win."
The Nets own the tiebreaker over the Cleveland, which closed the game with a 10-0 run as the Celtics did not use their best players.
"We've got a chance," Traylor said. "That's about all we can ask for. We put ourselves in this hole.''
Nets 109, Wizards 101
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jason Kidd had a season-high 35 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and New Jersey beat Washington to keep control of its own playoff destiny.
The win was the 14th in 18 games for the Nets (41-40), who can clinch the NBA's final playoff berth in one of two ways -- by beating the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday, or having Cavaliers lose at Toronto. New Jersey could earn the No. 7 seed with a win at Boston and a loss by Philadelphia at home against Atlanta.
Vince Carter added 26 points and nine assists and Brian Scalabrine had 13 points for New Jersey, which shot nearly 49 percent in beating Washington for the first time in four games this season.
Heat 99, Bobcats 80
In Miami, Rasual Butler scored a career-high 25 points and Miami, playing without injured Shaquille O'Neal, also got 14 points from Dwyane Wade in its win over New Orleans -- its final home game of the regular season.
Alonzo Mourning had 11 points, Udonis Haslem had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Eddie Jones scored 10 for Miami, which delivered coach Stan Van Gundy's 100th regular-season victory. Since a 5-15 start last season, Van Gundy's teams are 95-48 -- a .664 winning percentage.
Van Gundy expects to have O'Neal back for the playoff opener. He missed his fourth game in the last seven, sidelined by a bruised right thigh suffered in Sunday's win over Indiana. The team placed him on the injured list before the game, ruling him out for the finale in Orlando.
Pistons 95, Hawks 68
In Atlanta, Tayshaun Prince scored 20 points, and Ben Wallace added 15 points and 17 rebounds to power the Detroit over Atlanta for its 11th consecutive victory.
The Pistons, playing without injured starters Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, also got a career-high 16 points from Darko Milicic, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 draft who made his first career start.
Detroit's longest winning streak of the season is two shy of the 13 in a row the Pistons had last season en route to the NBA championship.
The 68 points by the Hawks matched their season-low.
Bulls 92, Knicks 91
In Chicago, rookie Ben Gordon hit the game-winner with 5.8 seconds left as Chicago beat New York to lock up home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
Chicago will open its first playoff appearance since 1998 against Washington, which lost any chance for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference by losing at New Jersey.
With New York ahead 91-90, the Bulls missed three chances to take the lead in the final minute before New York's Jamal Crawford missed two straight free throws. Gordon then hit a jump shot over Jermaine Jackson, and Crawford missed a shot that would have won it for New York.
Raptors 127, Bucks 109
In Milwaukee, Jalen Rose scored 29 points, Morris Peterson added 24 and Rafer Alston 22 as Toronto scored more points than any Milwaukee opponent this season.
The Bucks lost seven of their final nine games to finish 30-52, eleven victories fewer than last year in coach Terry Porter's inaugural season. It was their worst mark since they went 25-57 in 1995-1996 under Mike Dunleavy.
Desmond Mason had 25 points to lead Milwaukee.
Mavericks 101, SuperSonics 96
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, giving him a career-best 2,016 for the season, and the Dallas Mavericks continued their acceleration into the playoffs.
Although the Mavs let a 21-point lead turn into a 1-point deficit, all within the third quarter, they recovered to win their eighth straight and 15th in 17 games since Avery Johnson replaced Don Nelson as coach last month.
The win also gives Dallas a nine-game home winning streak to take into the playoffs -- which the Mavericks will open Saturday, at home, against Houston.
Nuggets 119, Trail Blazers 115
In Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 36 points and 13 rebounds, and Earl Boykins had 18 of his 24 points in the second half as Denver edged Portland.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
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