Decertification is "not on the table right now", National Basketball Players Association vice president Maurice Evans told SI.com's Sam Amick on Wednesday. Decertifying the union has been considered a top option for the players' union as the NBA lockout drags toward its third month; the NFL's players' union decertified early in that league's labor impasse last spring. The NBA has sued the NBPA in federal court to block what it calls a "sham decertification", and has also asked for clearance to void all existing player contracts if the union is allowed to dissolve.
The NBPA's strategy has differed from that of the NFLPA, as the basketball union has made a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board its top priority. A ruling from the NLRB on whether the NBA has failed to bargain in good faith is expected in September; that could lead to a complaint from the NLRB itself, which could be attached to an injunction to lift the lockout in what would be a major coup for the union.
But if the NLRB doesn't lend the union a hand, decertification -- and the associated threat of contract burning -- could be the next step.