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NBA fans hoping to see basketball on Christmas may not have to give up all hope just yet after all.

According to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the players and owners have resumed negotiations in an effort to end the lockout prior to Christmas.

NBA and players resumed talks on Tuesday to try and end the lockout before the cancellation of Christmas games, two sources told Y! Sports.

Derek Fisher isn't a part of the talks now, sources say.

It's imperative that fans don't hold their heads too high in optimism at this point as the two sides are merely talking, but it is definitely good news that they're once again talking.

Although optimism has been hard to find since the the players decided to disband the union, there was an understanding that if the NBA was going to save Christmas Day games, it was going to have to be by the two sides trying to hammer out a deal right around Thanksgiving.

The reason? As David Stern likes to say, it's simply a function of the calendar. The commissioner has been on the record several times stating that the league needs 30 days from whenever there is a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place to resume regular activity.

It might be interesting to some that Fisher is no longer involved in the talks, but that's likely a result of the lawyers' presence rather than a sign of non-involvement on his part.

The polls might indicate that the general consensus is that basketball isn't missed, but when Dave Checketts erroneously reported that a new CBA had been reached, he was trending worldwide within 20 minutes of the news.

The love of the game is still running rampant among the fans, and there's no doubt basketball would be welcomed back with open arms if real, measurable progress can be made between the players and owners.

Rajon Rondo Talks to B/R About the Lockout Rajon Rondo Talks to Bleacher Report About the NBA Lockout

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LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul will headline a four-game "Homecoming Tour," which will kick off on December 1.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the four superstars will play in a series of games running from December 1-10 and each game will be a "homecoming" for the stars involved.

With no end to the NBA lockout in sight, the All-Star group is set to lead a four-game "Homecoming Tour," starting with a matchup in James' hometown of Akron, Ohio on Dec. 1, followed by a Dec. 4 game in New Orleans, a Dec. 7 game in Chicago and culminating with a Dec. 10 contest in East Rutherford, N.J.

The proceeds collected from the games will go towards benefiting the players' charitable foundations, and the tour's sponsor, Google Plus, will stream each game live on the Internet for fans to be able to watch their favorite stars.

In addition to playing basketball, the tour will include things like educational outreach programs, food drives and clinics in each stop.

Although there are no players committed to play in all four games besides the headlining superstars, Chris Bosh is also expected to participate in the action, and that would make plenty of sense considering Wade and James are at the helm of the entire tour.

Fans will be treated to some exhibition basketball, and while that is typically a showcase of unorthodox passing and highlight-style alley-oop slam dunks, there's no question that fans will respond positively to seeing their favorite stars on the hardwood.

It will certainly be intriguing to see what type of reaction James receives when the action kicks off in Akron.

Tickets are expected to go on sale Tuesday for the first three games, and tickets for the final game in New Jersey will go on sale Wednesday.

Watch Durant and LeBron Work Out Together Watch LeBron James and Kevin Durant Work Out Together During NBA Lockout

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Cuttino Mobley is suing the New York Knicks over his 2008 retirement from the NBA.

According to Howard Beck of the New York Times, Mobley is seeking litigation with the claim that the franchise forced him into retirement.

Cuttino Mobley is suing the Knicks, saying they forced him to retire over his heart condition in 2008. Story to come at nytimes.com

As Beck notes, the lawsuit is sort of a curious one, as he showed no resistance at the time when the team found his heart condition back in December 2008 upon being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Mobley was quoted as saying "Getting the MRI basically saved my life" at the time this all went down in New York, so to claim that he was forced into retirement is quite strange.

The Knicks have already responded to Mobley's pending lawsuit, and Marc Berman of the New York Post passes along the sentiment that the team is disappointed with the choice to pursue this path.

Knicks say "extremely disappointed'' at Mobley's lawsuit which says they sent him to doctor club knew would give him cardio diagnosis.

Now singing a different tune, Mobley is arguing that the team tried to save money by forcing him to the sidelines on a permanent basis.

Mobley contends #Knicks tried to save money by having him retire, though his loss killed season after trading Jamal and banishing Stephon.

This certainly won't be the last we hear about this story, but there's no question that the timing is rather strange for Mobley to come forth with this.

In case anyone is wondering what Mobley had been up to since he left the game, he had helped finance a $1.6 million loan for a medical marijuana facility in Maine.

Now, he's looking to smoke the opposition in the court room.

10 Pressing Questions Facing the NBA With a Lost Season Looming NBA Lockout: 10 Pressing Questions Facing the League with a Lost Season Looming

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Deadline day has officially arrived in the NBA lockout for both the league and its players.

According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the league and the NBPA are planning to meet in New York today in the early afternoon. in an effort to finally lift the lockout and find a resolution that satisfies both sides.

NBA & players finalizing details for meeting this afternoon in NYC. Most likely 1 pm, source says.

Could this be the day that fans have been waiting for? Maybe. Maybe not.

This has been the pattern throughout the negotiations, as nobody really knows what to expect.

The marathon meetings have proven that the time spent in the room together is not indicative of progress, and the continuing battle of egos has turned this into an ugly personal battle between the sides.

The players expressed an obvious willingness to come down on its BRI number if the owners showed that they'd be willing to address the system issues that remain the dividing points between a deal.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday morning that David Stern has been given authorization to make minor "tweaks" to the owners' previous proposal.

“There can be a few things tweaked along the edges, the periphery and this can be agreed upon,” one ownership source told Yahoo! Sports. “I’m confident that would not be an issue if [Stern] did that.”

There is no question that there are hard-liners on both sides, but the best interest for each party is to strike a deal and save whatever part of the season possible.

It's time to do away with all of the posturing through the media and finally shake hands.

If the season is lost over the remaining issues, there will only be one party to blame for that.

No, I'm not talking about the players.

Wednesday's Meeting to Determine Chances of Saving Season NBA Lockout: With Deadline Looming, Players Hope to Make Deal with Owners

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The only thing more exhausting than the NBA lockout may very well be the negotiations.

After talks broke down between the two sides last week (again) with Executive Director Billy Hunter walking out of the meeting refusing to discuss a BRI figure lower than 52 percent, it sounds as if there may be another negotiating session on the horizon.

According to a report from The Boston Herald, the NBA and players' union will once again meet with each other on Saturday.

After breaking off talks last Friday, the NBA and players’ union are expected to resume face to face negotiations this Saturday in New York, according to involved sources.

While sources have been a grossly misused term throughout this NBA labor situation, the timing of such a meeting would definitely make sense considering that the NBPA Executive Committee is expected to meet on Thursday.

We'll see what might come out of more discussions between the two sides, but thus far, both the number of meetings and the length associated with each one has meant absolutely nothing in terms of potential progress.

We're now into November without a deal construed, and with both sides having some obvious divides within, those that continue to suffer most are the fans.

It's inexcusable that the pace of these negotiations have moved slower than a snail when just about everyone involved saw the lockout coming for three years, and the amount of damage the league is going to be enormous when the smoke clears.

At a critical crossroads and without an obvious solution on the horizon, what's the next move?

We'll see what happens on Saturday.

No matter how anyone from the owners' side attempts to spin it through the media, the best way to talk about the gulf in the BRI stance is with a tweet from free agent David West.

We have 100 dollars to split. U get 50 I get 50...U split your 50 between 30 guys...I split my 50 with 450 guys. Think about it...

He raises an interesting point, doesn't he?

Division Among Players an Issue in Negotiations NBA Lockout: Division Among Players an Issue, Union May Have to Concede

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Shaquille O'Neal is talking about Kobe Bryant.

Again.

The big man has been unable to stay quiet in his retirement, and despite the fact that there have been a plethora of negative rumors surrounding O'Neal's personal life since he decided to walk away from the game, it hasn't stopped him from taking shots at his former teammate.

O'Neal's new book is to be released soon, and he admitted that he told Bryant he was going to kill him.

No, that's not a typo.

O'Neal may be seen as jovial by some for his antics on the court (including this phenomenal performance with the Jabbawockeez), but it's clear that wasn't always the case.

In an excerpt from the book (via CBS Sports), O'Neal spills some of the details that led to the Lakers implosion.

After Phil Jackson told the two players to can it with the public battles, Bryant did an interview with Jim Gray that O'Neal was not happy about.

Brian Shaw chimed in with "Kobe, why would you think that? Shaq had all these parties and you never showed up for any of them. We invited you to dinner on the road and you didn't come. Shaq invited you to his wedding and you weren't there. Then you got married and didn't invite any of us. And now you are in the middle of this problem, this sensitive situation, and now you want all of us to step up for you. We don't even know you." ... Everyone was starting to calm down when I told Kobe, "If you ever say anything like what you said to Jim Gray ever again, I will kill you."

Kobe shrugged and said, "Whatever."

Was Shaq serious? It's hard to say given the fact that he's been linked to ordering murders, but clearly Bryant didn't think there was too much sincerity behind his threat.

Remember when O'Neal promised to bring a ring for the king to Cleveland?

He never followed through on that one, either.

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The NBA and NBPA will resume negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement on Wednesday.

According to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press, the two sides will come together once again after talks broke down on Thursday of last week.

It took a whopping six days for the parties to agree to meet once again, but at least they are indeed meeting rather than continuing to sit in their separate corners.

The tone of Wednesday's meeting should be rather interesting, as Mahoney notes that the latest hitch in the discussions came with a harsh undertone.

There was a far nastier tone than usual to the breakdown, with union president Derek Fisher of the Lakers accusing Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver and Spurs owner Peter Holt, chairman of the league's labor relations committee, of lying during their press conference.

It's expected that there will be small contingencies present for both sides.

While it appears that the groups remain divided in what each is hoping to achieve, perhaps we'll begin to see some real, measurable progress made on the key issues.

Still with a very wide gap on the issue of the revenue split as well as an inability to agree on what has been deemed "system issues" throughout the process, there is no quick fix to this lengthy labor battle that has worn out many of those involved.

Even if they are miraculously able to reach an agreement by the end of this week, we're likely not going to see basketball before December, as it will take about a month to get the league up and running.

Let's hope there is basketball in the near future, because we're all worn out by a lockout that has no public resonance among the increasingly isolated fan base.

At the end of the day, the owners have already won this battle, and the best chance fans have of seeing their favorite stars take the hardwood is the hope that they're not going for a complete and utter blowout.

Owners Who Could Help End the Lockout NBA Lockout: 6 Owners Who Could Help Facilitate an End to the Lockout

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NBA fans are finding it increasingly difficult to find any optimism during the ongoing lockout.

It's hard to blame them. For weeks we heard about "progress" which may or may not have been being made, only to have it blown into obliteration when the two sides broke off talks under Federal Mediator George Cohen last week.

The owners delivered a 50-50 ultimatum as to how to split BRI (Basketball-Related Income), and the players left it as it simply wasn't a fair deal.

The NBA has already canceled the first two weeks of its regular season from the calendar, and now it certainly sounds as if the next wave of games is only shortly behind.

According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the next announcement coming down from league offices is almost certain to be filled with doom and gloom.

Pretty widely expected that NBA's next announcement will be that start of season postponed "indefinitely," or "until further notice."

The "until further notice" line is what should really make fans feel most uncomfortable, as even the league doesn't know when the regular season will begin.

While I refuse to believe the idea that the entire season will be lost (there is simply too much at stake for both sides from a financial perspective), it's clear that the owners are divided in their collective philosophy to get the deal they've been clamoring for, and that could make an already lengthy process turn into one that is completely overextended.

For both sides to get a deal done, each has to put aside its behemoth ego and compromise from where they stand on current issues.

Hopefully, once one domino falls, others will be moved around more easily and a deal can come together.

However, they have to agree to meet before that can happen.

And as we've seen throughout this scenario, that can be a process in and of itself.

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The first two weeks of games on the NBA schedule have already been canceled, and now it certainly seems as if there are more contests that are soon to be wiped off of the slate.

According to Los Angeles Lakers beat writer Kevin Ding, the NBA has already given permission to the Staples Center to begin filling dates in December, let alone the remaining two weeks of November that had yet to be officially called off.

According to a statement from the NBA: “With the cancellation of the first two weeks of the season, the NBA schedule would have to be reworked and certain dates — including Dec. 13 for a Lakers game at Staples Center — would not be part of any revised schedule.

In other words, the league better have a myriad of contingency schedules for whenever the lockout is lifted, because it's clearly going to be a logistical nightmare to plan a truncated season.

There are a number of scenarios that could have gone into the league's decision to allow facilities to fulfill other commitments, and at the forefront of those could be an effort to provide revenues to areas that may be heavily influenced by the loss of NBA games.

Having said that, this is a rather ominous sign of the league's long-term outlook on the current situation, and while it wouldn't surprise me to see basketball sometime in between December and January, I'm leaning toward closer to January at this point given the developments of the negotiating pace following Thursday's meltdown between the two sides.

The mounting frustration from fans is understandable, and without a resolution in sight, it's going back into the doom and gloom scenario after the recent days under the guidance of Federal Mediator George Cohen provided a reason for slight optimism.

That suddenly seems like a long, long time ago.

Biggest Issues Between Players & Owners in Ongoing Lockout NBA Lockout: Biggest Issues Separating Players and Owners

Cohen's makes a statement about the progress of negotiations after Wednesday's meeting.
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For months, NBA fans have been hearing about how owners and players have been in a stalemate as to how the next Collective Bargaining Agreement will split up BRI (Basketball-Related Income) moving forward.

Now, the two sides may finally be making progress toward achieving that seemingly insurmountable goal.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the players and owners have made some strides toward an agreement on the issue.

As long expected, the two sides have moved closer to a “50-50 split, give or take a point with ranges based on revenue performance,” one source said.

While that is certainly a reason for optimism, that doesn't mean that an agreement is imminent.

It also does not mean that the parties are close on a number of other issues that continue to divide the room, so fans hoping for basketball should temper their expectations until more dominoes fall into place.

Still, the biggest hurdle between the two sides remains the luxury tax proposals to punish big-spending teams and discourage them from overpaying players.

The NBA wants to limit players’ “Larry Bird Rights” they enjoy now by forbidding teams to go over the cap to pay their current players. They also want to restrict teams over the cap from using the midlevel and biannual exceptions to sign players on an every-year basis. The players contend the restrictions will act as a de facto hard salary cap.

And that's still a tough issue to come to an agreement on for both sides, as neither one is seemingly seeking to move off of its current stance.

However, that doesn't mean that one or both won't blink, but at this stage, it's still clear to see that the two sides have extended work to do.

Federal Mediator George Cohen met with the NFL almost 20 times before the lockout was lifted, and Thursday marks day three for Cohen in NBA talks, where the gap is much more sizable.

Joakim Noah is Not a Top 30 NBA Player Joakim Noah Is Not a Top 30 Player in the NBA, ESPN NBA Rank Dropped the Ball

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Charles Oakley's comments about LeBron James and Michael Jordan didn't leave much to the imagination after he was finished speaking.

When Scottie Pippen made his remarks about James possibly becoming the best player to ever play the game (ahead of Jordan), Oakley had a dissenting point of view and had no problem sharing exactly what was on his mind.

I wouldn’t put them in the same conversation.

It took a while for Michael to win championships too, but they have a different swagger, a different demeanor. If I would compare anybody to Michael Jordan, it would be Kobe Bryant. Point blank. I know LeBron well; he don’t have what Michael have so I’m not even gonna discuss that one.

And there you have it.

Like Pippen, Oakley is merely sharing his opinion on the situation, and there is no right or wrong answer when two people have varying opinions about a particular player.

I will say that the comparisons between Jordan and Bryant have been around a lot longer than the Jordan and James juxtapositions, and the similarities between the first two in their particular games are clear.

I do agree with Oakley when he says that Jordan and James have a different swagger, but nobody, I mean nobody will ever have the same swag as His Airness.

There can only be one player who is called the greatest of all-time, and even when both Bryant and James' careers both come to a close, it's going to be tough to rank anyone ahead of Jordan.

It will certainly be interesting to see how James responds after two players with direct ties to Jordan have had such contradicting thoughts on the direction of his career, and that's a story line from this season that I don't want to miss because of the lockout.

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It sounds as if the Kobe Bryant to Italy saga is about to come to a conclusion, and its resolution certainly shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

According to the latest update from Sportando.net, owner Claudio Sabatini has reportedly decided to give up on his pursuit of Bryant, as the latest proposal from Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, is too high for the team's budget.

As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, the last requests made by Rob Pelinka to Virtus Bologna to have the chance to sign Kobe Bryant for some exhibition games are too high for Claudio Sabatini who decided to give up on the negotiations.

Those who have been following the negotiating process throughout since the rumors first began to run rampant are unlikely to be surprised at the latest development, as the entire scenario has seemed to be rather far-fetched.

The proposals have changed several times despite Sabatini's constant claims that the two sides were "very close" on an agreement, and with Bryant having over $80 million owed to him over the next three seasons from his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, there is no way that he would do anything to jeopardize his NBA career for a chance to play in Italy.

It remains entirely possible that Bryant could play in Italy, where he spent a part of his childhood, once his career stateside in the league comes to a conclusion, but at the forefront of his priority list currently is capturing a sixth championship ring.

Let's hope that this is the end of the Bryant to Virtus Bologna rumors, as they have truly become exhausting and have been taken far too seriously by most since they originated.

As for Sabatini, he should really learn how to keep his mouth shut until he actually has a deal done.

It's an embarrassment for both he and the team that he's come out publicly with so many comments about how close the two parties were, and I'm sure everyone currently on his team could certainly do without the distractions.

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The rumors surrounding Kobe Bryant's potential venture to Italy have been swirling, and now there is a new wrinkle in the negotiations that hadn't previously been discussed.

The latest discussions between the two sides involve Bryant playing in three exhibition games for Virtus Bologna, and the action would be entitled the "Kobe Cup."

Seriously.

Here are the details from Emilio Carchia of Sportando.net:

Claudio Sabatini and Rob Pelinka are still working silently to bring Kobe Bryant to Italy during the NBA lockout. The last idea is to organize three exhibition tournaments in Bologna, Roma and Milano with three teams for any stage. All the games would last 24 minutes with two quarters by 12'. Sabatini wants to involve also a foreign team because his idea is to sell the TV rights also abroad. The winner of the mini-tournament will lift the prestigious Kobe Cup.

You just can't make this stuff up.

Sabatini, the owner of Virtus Bologna, has thoroughly embarrassed both himself and his team by being so vocal in the negotiating process throughout the entire ordeal, and he's said that the parties have been "very close" to a deal on several occasions.

Obviously, the phrase has lost meaning considering the fact that Bryant appears no closer to landing in Italy than he was when all of these discussions began.

At this point, it's become laughable that there are even updates on the situation considering that Sabatini had previously said that he was going to stop making public remarks about everything until it was resolved, but the information continues to flow out regularly.

There is obvious appeal for Bryant to play in Italy after he spent a great portion of his childhood there, but Pelinka is going to be extraordinarily careful in any possible deal that he works out for his client.

Let's just call the possibility remote until we hear otherwise.

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Fear not, NBA fans. The current lockout and the cancellation of the first two weeks of the season does not mean that an 82-game schedule is not possible.

In an NBA lockout FAQ article penned by well-respected basketball scribe Marc Stein of ESPN.com, he explains how a full complement of regular season games would still be possible in a condensed, expedited version of the original schedule.

As reassurance for those of you who, like us, will be reduced to unspeakable misery (and probably worse) if there isn't an NBA game until after the 2012 Olympics in London, be advised that strong rumblings continue to be conveyed to ESPN.com about the league preparing a secret schedule that starts Dec. 1 and still manages to pump out 82 games. The New York Post has likewise reported that NBA schedule-maker Matt Winick has quietly drafted a variety of contingency plans spanning anywhere from 50 to 74 games.

As conveyed by Stein and has been rumored for some time, the length of the 82-game season doesn't necessitate the time span that the league has traditionally used to play out the entire campaign, and there shouldn't be any extended thought about the league wiping out the entire season.

At least not yet.

A way to concoct a full 82-game schedule could potentially be seen as another concession made by the owners in an effort to get players their full salaries, so it's not surprising that the league would have a "secret schedule" being drawn up in an effort to introduce it in the latter stages of the bargaining process.

With George Cohen set to step in next week and serve as the federal mediator between the two sides in the pursuit of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it's time for both sides to buck the trend of stubbornness and make real strides toward fulfilling hoop dreams and playing basketball.

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Dennis Rodman had some interesting words to describe his viewpoint of the current NBA lockout.

"The Worm" had no problem disclosing exactly what side he favored in the dispute between the players and owners, and his comments were emphatically supporting the latter.

They (players) should bow down. In 1999 we (were locked out) and we missed half the season. The owners bowed down then. They gave the players everything. I think the players should do the same thing for the owners because today most of these teams are losing money. It’s not the players’ fault. It’s the owners’ fault. I think they should give a little bit and move on….

To summarize: Rodman admits that it's the owners fault, yet preaches the idea that the players should give even more back to the owners, because the owners negotiated a previous CBA that gave too much to the players.

If you're confused, don't worry. I don't think Rodman knows what he even said.

The owners, who negotiated what they believed to be a fair deal in the previous CBA, are now in trying to protect themselves from their own idiocy, and in an effort to do so, they need even further givebacks from the players.

Rodman suggests that the current players should be penalized because the owners made a deal with a previous generation of players, and by doing so, jeopardizes the future of the league's players moving forward.

For someone who clearly has a very shallow understanding of exactly what is at stake for both sides in this particular work stoppage, Rodman should do himself a favor and stop offering his opinion on the situation.

His comments simply don't make any sense.

I'm not against any former player sharing his opinion, but when you blame one side and ask for the other to make the concessions, it just doesn't sound very good.

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