NBA Lockout: Owners, Players Conclude Talks, Agree To Meet Again Friday

The NBA Lockout continued with more bargaining sessions on Wednesday, but as both sides concluded early, they again left with out a new deal. They did, however, agree to more meetings this week.

The sessions on Wednesday concluded after four hours to honor the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, and at least one union official said, "We are not close to a deal." On the bright side, per Ken Berger at CBS Sports, Derek Fisher said that while the owners and players have yet to find common ground in the negotiations, the desire to make it work is strong on both sides.

The meetings will continue later this week, and may even include bargaining sessions this weekend if both sides think a deal is within reach. But for the record, as far as actual optimism is concerned, it's in short supply Wednesday as the deadline for negotiations nears, and the NBA lockout moves closer and closer to threatening the cancellation of regular season games.

As Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski tweets:

While the increased communication is good, the NBA and union are still far apart on terms to make a deal. The union does want to bring in several high-profile players for Friday's meeting, especially with such a big ownership turnout planned. The union believes its stars have been supportive behind scenes, but knows the membership would like to see the big names front-and-center.

In other words: both sides are still miles apart, but as the deadline nears, we can take solace in two, separate silver linings. First, both sides will meet Friday and continue into the weekend if necessary. Second, if part of the NBA regular season is about to go down in flames, then at least the owners will have to say it to the faces of some of the league's biggest superstars.