NBA Lockout Optimist Should Be Couched Until We Hear From Hardliners, Warns Writer

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The sharp and stylish Sam Amick of SI.com has a kind, necessary note warning fans against getting too excited over all of the optimism glowing like a spotlight from the NBA lockout meetings in New York City this week. He reminds us that this isn't the first time that the league and players' union have made progress when attacking the stalemate with small groups of only the top negotiators. We all know what has happened on prior occasions.

[W]hat happens when hard-line owners like Cleveland's Dan Gilbert and Portland's Paul Allen re-enter the conversation Thursday afternoon? Or when the stars such as Boston's Kevin Garnett or the Lakers' Kobe Bryant weigh in on the fact that the 53-percent-BRI-line-in-the-sand has long since been crossed by the union? Stern himself got it right near the end of his early-morning media briefing, offering a bottom-line assessment that fans would be wise to remember.

"There's no deal on anything unless there's a deal on everything," he said.

Paul Allen's Death Stare can still ruin everything, you guys.