NBA Lockout: Crucial Meetings Today Will Determine Fate of 2011-2012 Season

Today is the 102nd day of the NBA lockout and most likely the last possible day for a deal to get done without a portion of the regular season getting canceled.

Last night was the initial deadline for a tentative agreement to get outlined in order to avoid cancellation, but was postponed until today because both sides agreed to continue trying their hardest to get something ironed out by tonight.

While both sides of the talks admitted to ESPN that they aren’t necessarily anywhere closer to getting a deal done, the fact that they are meeting today is a positive sign and possibly means we won’t be missing any regular NBA season action.

There are some glimmers of hope here and there being spotted on Twitter today.

Ira Winderman, Heat beat writer for the South Florida SunSentinel, tweeted, “Just got off the phone with an agent who said, ‘It's all going to get done today.’ That's what he says, not what me says.”

Zach Lowe of Sports Illustrated is reporting that one of the main hangups for a deal going through is a system issue dealing with the luxury tax. If they can’t get this hammered out, there is no hope for the biggest obstacle to be overcome, how to properly split basketball related income (BRI).

There is $4 billion dollars hanging in the balance to be shared amongst owners and players, which was at a 57/43 share in favor of players prior to the lockout.

Owners are asking for an even 50/50 split and players are completely balking at this incredulous request. The players have conceded to reduce their share a bit but not enough for owners to agree to.

This is going to be the main issue that determines if we have a season or not and one that will be very strenuously argued by both sides throughout the day, assuming they get that far.

Keep it tuned to Bleacher Report’s NBA page for the latest breaking news on the NBA Lockout talks.