David Stern, NBA Owners And Players Meet For Bargaining Session

NBA owners and players are meeting Wednesday for a full bargaining sessions on labor issues ahead of a feared lockout now just a month away. David Stern announced Tuesday that he'll participate in the bargaining session, and player representative Roger Mason -- who "plays" for the New York Knicks -- tweeted about the exercise.

Whether the collective will make headway on a seemingly impossible task remains to be seen. The National Basketball Players Association last week filed a fair labor practices complaint against the league, seeking to pre-empt a lockout by the NBA. The league's current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on June 30.

In its filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the union alleged the league had not engaged in good faith negotiations for a new CBA. Union head Billy Hunter has said owners presented essentially the same non-starter proposal proffered a year ago, involving a hard cap of $45 million and drastic salary rollbacks. The only major difference in the new proposal was that the payroll cuts would be phased in over three years.