Refs Want to Make a Deal

According to their negotiator, a lockout isn’t a sure thing: “The lead negotiator for N.B.A. referees expressed renewed hope Tuesday that a labor deal might be struck — and a lockout averted — before the league opens its preseason schedule. ‘There definitely could be movement towards a deal,’ said Lamell McMorris, who is the spokesman and chief negotiator for the National Basketball Referees Association.”