NBA Lockout: NBA, NBPA Making Slight Progress in Labor Standoff

It may be a long shot for the NBA to start this season on time right now, but at least some progress is being made.

On Monday, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the NBA was nearing an agreement with the NBPA on a "reduced version" of the mid-level exception.

A lowering of the mid-level salary-cap exception has been just one point of debate for NBA owners and players during labor negotiations. The owners have also been arguing for a 50-50 split of basketball-related income, significant taxes for top-spending teams and a narrowing of players' "Larry Bird" exception rights. "Bird rights" allow players who have stayed on one team for at least three years to be re-signed even if it violates a team's salary-cap limit.

The biggest point of contention, the 50-50 split, still has yet to be cleared, however. All the other issues could be resolved, but if this issue isn't alleviated, it appears unlikely that the NBA season would start on time.

Players Association president Derek Fisher said on Sunday, via Yahoo! Sports, that the two sides were “not necessarily closer” to a deal going into negotiations yesterday as they were before. But if a reduced version of the mid-level exception is agreed on then at least that would point them in the right direction.

Long story short, Monday's news marks a slight improvement in the state of the 2011-2012 NBA season, but there is still much to be decided before the season can start.

And, the way things have been sluggishly moving along, it doesn't appear all the remaining issues will magically be resolved quickly.

The bad news for players is that they appear to have conceded a bit in regards to the mid-level exception, but the potential agreement is better news for NBA fans because it shows some form of compromise is taking place.