NBA labor agreement may be reopened

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-nba-stern15-2009feb15,0,2917048.column

Mark Heisler:



Matt Slocum / Associated Press
NBA Commissioner David Stern gives his state-of-the-game address to members of the media on Saturday in Phoenix.

Talks between the league and union are in response to the struggling economy.

Mark Heisler
February 15, 2009

Reporting from Phoenix -- NBA Commissioner David Stern and NBA Players Assn. head Billy Hunter disclosed Saturday that in light of the nation's economic plight, they're in talks that could reopen the current bargaining agreement.

"I can't tell you that we are close to reaching a deal, but we have been talking," said Hunter, appearing at Stern's All-Star news conference.

" . . . We all understand that we live and benefit from the success of the NBA. The last thing we want to do is see it lose its vitality. We will do everything possible to reach a deal.

"Whether or not that means we will reopen before the expiration of the current contract's conclusion is another question. But I can say to you that we are anxious to reach a deal."

The NBA and the union are in the fourth season of a six-year deal that expires in 2011, with the NBA holding the option of extending until 2012.

FULL story at link.