HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NBA owners and players expires at midnight on June 30, 2011. If that happens before a new agreement can be negotiated, players will be locked out by the owners. Doom and gloom has surrounded most of the reporting about talks, but despite that National Basketball Players Association president Derek Fisher is actually optimistic.

"Yes, I am," Fisher said to HOOPSWORLD. "We’ve got a lot of work to do and the more opportunities we get to spend some time talking and fleshing things out the better."

Both sides will meet for discussions in Los Angeles during All-Star Weekend. This won’t be a formal negotiating session, but it will be a chance for both sides to spend a little more time gathering information from the other and making their cases.

Right now, as all the news stories about the process to date can corroborate, the owners and players are far apart on what both sides want changed. The owners want shorter contracts, lower maximum salaries – anything helpful to controlling costs. The players argue that’s not necessary and would like to maintain the same style of salary cap, refuting the owners’ stance money is being lost.

The two sides appear to be looking at each from opposite sides of a deep chasm. Despite that, Fisher thinks real negotiating could begin quickly.

"I think it depends on if we’re willing to discuss the real issues," he said. "Oftentimes things do turn quickly once you get some momentum going, typical of a negotiation process. It’s tough to get that momentum started. That’s been the most difficult part thus far, but we’re trying to remain patient, optimistic, focused on what the end goal is, and just getting a deal done so we can continue to play basketball."

That statement is worth calling attention to again: No one here wants to see games missed. Games missed mean less income for players and owners and none of them want that. True, players are being cautioned to prepare for the worst and the claim is owners can weather a stoppage better than players, but that’s quite different than claiming it’s acceptable. An extended lockout will hurt everyone, most notably the league as a whole.

Fisher also noted the NBPA and the NBA owners both are paying attention to the NFL’s situation. Their CBA expires in just a couple weeks and parallels can be drawn between how the NFL process is done to what the NBA will have to deal with in a few months, should things go that far.

"We are paying attention. We have one of our attorneys, Jeffrey Kessler, who has done some work for us and the NFL. There are some things that apply to both sides. We’re paying close attention to a lot of things going on, but then there are things that are unique to our game that we’ll remain focused on. I think they will impact each other, because they will be – theoretically – four months ahead of us in terms of their deadline being March 3rd or 4th and ours is July 1st. There will be some things we can see and observe."

Like what happens if it all goes terribly awry?

{AUTHOR_BOX}"If it’s a train wreck it all depends on how the process goes. I think it’s not easy, for either sport, to figure these things out. At the end of the day I don’t think there is anyone that’s willing, or desiring, to take away something so great in terms of providing that kind of entertainment and competition the fans in both sports have enjoyed for so long."

Again, key point: they don’t want to miss games.

Fisher also commented on the importance of having the star players – players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Paul – involved in these talks.

"It’s important because they are our most visible guys, our most notable guys – their opinions matter. But it’s also important that we have high numbers of players involved in the process. Obviously it’s great to have our star players, but that doesn’t mean our other guys, that we don’t need or want them to be involved in the process like our star players will be."

It’s been said before and will be said again: Having the stars involved is nice, but a vote from them counts the same as Dante Cunningham’s. Where the real importance of having the stars involved is, if they are well schooled on the subjects as many of them are, they will be asked about them by the media and can talk about the issues, getting them out in front of the public. People want to know what they think, and how that is presented to the public can help shape the discussions at the negotiating table.

There is not simple answer here in these negotiations. It’s not just a single subject both sides can take one step forward from their position, meet in the middle, and everyone can be satisfied. There is still a long road to pass for the CBA negotiations.

But. As Fisher said, things can change from bleak to bright fairly quickly, just as soon as both sides drop the rhetoric and the chest pounding and start actually negotiating the issues. Until that begins, a lockout on July 1, 2011 is still the most likely next step in the process.

Check out Jason Fleming’s weekly NBA chat Mondays at 8pm Eastern, and follow him on Twitter!