Stern discusses new collective bargaining proposal

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- NBA commissioner David Stern said Tuesday that negotiations between the league and the players' union will resume soon.

A source close to the talks told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the meeting could happen later this week.

Stern admitted during a press conference before the NBA Draft lottery that the league has spoken with the players' association since negotiations broke off last week.

"If we said there were no ongoing talks we would not be exactly accurate," Stern said at the press conference that was dominated by labor questions because a lockout has become more of a possibility. "We continue dialogue with the players and we anticipate setting up a meeting in the relatively near future."

Dan Wasserman, a spokesman for the players' union, was not immediately available for comment.

Stern laid out the framework for a new collective bargaining agreement on Tuesday. He said the league will guarantee that the players receive 57 percent share of the revenues, the same amount they currently get under the agreement negotiated in 1999. He said the league will raise the salary cap three percentage points -- from 48 to 51 percent -- and minimize the level at which the luxury tax clicks in, making more money available for salaries.

Over the course of a possible six-year CBA, Stern said the average player salary would increase from its current level of $4.5 million to $5.5 million.

If the players accepted the framework, Stern said the only key areas left to be negotiated would be non-economic -- the length of player contracts, drug testing and minimum age.

The maximum current length of player contracts is seven years. The league wants it lowered.

Stern wants to raise the minimum age for entering the league from 18 to somewhere between 18 and 21.

The commissioner denied reports that the league had made a four-year proposal and that there would not be guaranteed contracts.

While saying he would be optimistic about the chances of reaching a new agreement if the framework was accepted, Stern noted that some of the owners think the deal is too rich.

He also warned that economic issues could force the league to take it off the table. Stern noted that a concessionaire recently canceled an order because of concerns about the league's labor problems. He would not identify the concessionaire.

"Frankly we are optimistic our players will come back and talk to us in an intelligent way because we think we have been talking to them in an intelligent way and I might add a respectful way," he said.

If no new agreement is reached, the club owners could lock out the players as early as July 1 -- three days after the NBA's annual draft.