NBA Lockout: 16-Hour Marathon Negotiating Session Is Step in Right Direction

For perhaps the first time over the course of the NBA's 3.5 month-long lockout there is a beacon of hope that a deal could get done. According to CBS Sports' Ken Berger, players and owners met at a Manhattan hotel Tuesday for 16 hours in a bargaining session oversaw by federally appointed mediator George Cohen.

The meeting lasted from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. early Wednesday morning. While no deal was met, the two sides agreed to meet again Wednesday at 10 a.m. The players and owners were able to make a bit of headway reportedly, thanks to Cohen's ability to "take the emotion" out of the negotiations.

While there still may not be an end in sight for the lockout, this meeting can't be viewed as anything other than a positive sign. It is quite clear the players and owners have become serious about trying to end the lockout as this was by far the longest joint meeting over the course of the lockout.

With the preseason already cancelled, as well as the first two weeks of the regular season, further cancellations are certainly looming. With that in mind, the players and owners seem to have finally reached desperation mode in terms of hammering out a deal.

In all honesty, this type of desperation should have been on display from the onset, but at least it seems as though both sides are finally committed to reaching a resolution. One would think things went reasonably well over the course of those 16 hours if they were willing to reconvene just eight hours later.

Hopefully Wednesday's session will build off whatever may have been accomplished Tuesday. It is reported that Cohen tried to find middle ground between the players and owners rather than focusing on each side's gripes individually, and that is what should have been happening all along.

Both sides need to compromise to some degree and meet somewhere in the middle, and while that seems like an obvious statement, the players and owners don't seem to get that. Both sides want to take, take and take some more, but neither is willing to give even an inch.

Hopefully Cohen's methods were able to change that mentality a bit and make the quarreling counterparts realize they need to drastically change the way they have been negotiating.

While these talks seem to have been positive, there is still no guarantee that we are any closer to ending the lockout. It's impossible to say when or if the lockout will finally be lifted, but Tuesday's talks and Wednesday's impending negotiations could certainly be key in doing so.