No progress in talks to end NBA lockout

The original start date to the NBA season arrived on Tuesday with progress still stalled in the negotiations to end the lockout. No further talks have been scheduled, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been made public. Players and owners made progress on a number of issues related to the salary cap system over two days last week. But the negotiations fell apart again on the third day, when the sides decided to revisit the revenue sharing split. Owners are insistent on a 50-50 split, while players have proposed reducing their guarantee from 57 per cent down to 52.5, which they say would transfer more than $1.5 billion (Dh5.5 billion) to owners over six years. Three games had been scheduled for Tuesday. The Mavericks would have opened the defence of their first NBA title at home against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Houston was at Utah, with Kevin Durant's Thunder at Kobe Bryant's Lakers. Most of the league would have started Wednesday. Instead, TNT was airing a Bones marathon Tuesday night. Commissioner David Stern cancelled games through the end of November on Friday. The first two weeks of the season already had been lost to the lockout, which began after the old collective bargaining agreement expired June 30. A day after union president Derek Fisher sent out a letter to players assuring them of leadership's unity, players' association executive director Billy Hunter did the same.