Deputy Commissioner: Lockout ‘Not Inevitable’

Well, here’s the first ray of hope we’ve encountered in a long time. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reports: “NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver, who attended Friday’s game at Toyota Center, disputed the assumption that a work stoppage is inevitable. But he said that no meetings with the Players Association are scheduled, that there has been no movement since the owner’s proposal a year ago and union counter-proposal last spring, and could only cite the history of avoided work stoppages as a reason for optimism. ‘It’s not inevitable,’ said Silver, who attended the game on the invitation of Rockets CEO Tad Brown. ‘We have a long-time relationship with Billy Hunter (the Players Association Executive Director) and other union officers. The Players Association is well-led by Derek Fisher. While we have no formal meetings scheduled, there is an on-going dialogue going with the union. We’ve been forthcoming with our financials and I’d like to believe they understand the position we find ourselves. I don’t think anything is inevitable and there is a lot of time left to get a deal done.’