NBA Lockout: Next 72 Hours Critical, NBPA Balks at Stern's Latest Ultimatum

Another week of the NBA lockout, and another ultimatum delivered.

Marathon negotiating sessions have become routine throughout this process, and despite the time that has gone into finding a potential resolution, the two sides are still engaged in a staring contest and remain waiting for the other to blink first.

Following Saturday's meeting—which lasted for more than eight hours—Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver told the media that the players will have until the end of the business day on Wednesday to accept the offer.

Otherwise a new, lesser deal will be presented to the union.

Federal Mediator George Cohen was once again present for the negotiations, and he made six recommendations as to how to bridge the gap between the parties. Stern said that the owners were willing to accept five of the six, and also said that NBPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler was unwilling to take on any of them.

Here are the details of the offer: owners are offering a "band" on the BRI split between 49-51 percent of revenue, and teams that pay the luxury tax would not be able to use the full mid-level exception nor facilitate sign-and-trade deals.

The union countered with a BRI figure of 51 percent, with one percent going to retired players, but the owners held to the band.

It's incredible to think that the players have come all the way down to 51 percent of the revenue split (down from 57 percent under the previous CBA), but the owners, who have already won these "negotiations" in blowout fashion, are going for an absolute torching of the players, and they certainly don't appear to be willing to make reasonable compromises.

The reason for quotation marks around negotiations is simple: the owners have seemingly failed to bargain in good faith throughout this process, and that isn't something that's likely to change at any point, regardless of how many games are ultimately wiped from the schedule.

With NBPA President Derek Fisher calling the owners' most recent ultimatum "unacceptable," it doesn't sound particularly promising right now.

The parties appeared close to a possible deal prior to hard-liners on both sides digging their heels into the sand and drawing a line, but now that there are obvious divides within each group, this has the potential to blow up and reach catastrophic proportions for the sport, its fans and everyone impacted by the continued work stoppage.

Before the most recent meeting, it was reported that Charlotte Bobcats' owner Michael Jordan was leading a group of 10-14 owners who were unwilling to budge from their positions.

On the players' side, the decertification of the union is presenting itself as a more realistic option by the day. When the idea was originally broached in July, NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter expressed no interest in dissolving the union.

Now, it's at the forefront of the conversation.

As alluded to previously, it's tough to describe the talks between sides as negotiations, as it's become crystal clear that there is one obvious way to describe the process: stubbornness.

There are pervading egos, mounting emotions and unbelievable frustration on both sides, and it's become absolutely exhausting.

The league is doing irreparable damage to its image, has already isolated the casual fanbase and is in serious danger of reaching the point of no return in terms of surviving this extended lockout.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports was the first to use "ass-hattery" to describe the current state of affairs—his choice of adjective seems exactly accurate.

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Beginning Monday morning, there are three full business days for someone—anyone—with a shred of reason to pick up the phone and connect the dots between the differences that remain.

"

It makes no sense whatsoever for either side to sacrifice the season in its entirety. There is more to lose than to gain by sitting out an entire year, and both Fisher and Stern have to know that.

Despite the mounting support that decertification has received over the last week, it's a highly questionable strategy given the timing of such a move.

It would have been much more appropriate as both a threat and a legitimate option had it come in July, but now, a full week into November, it makes no sense if the players are hopeful of seeing the court at all this year.

With empty threats coming from both sides, there are 72 hours left before Stern's most recent artificial deadline arrives.

The overwhelming reaction in the public? A collective eye roll.

In an economy where people are struggling to pay their mortgages, to find work and to live a day-to-day life with any comfort, it's mind-boggling to fathom the idea that the sides can't figure out a way to split billions of dollars.

The parties have come too far to hit enter into nuclear warfare with one another, but with both logic failing to pervade at any point throughout, why should we expect it to come soon?

The next 72 hours are pivotal, and it wouldn't be surprising to see things get even worse.

Despite all of the tentative agreements between the two sides on a number of issues, it won't matter if Wednesday night arrives and the parties fail to have a deal with one another.

The players have offered more than enough to get this deal done.

That's fact, not opinion.