NBA Lockout: Reports Indicate Season No Longer a Matter of If, but When

According to the latest wire reports out of New York, labor discussions between the NBA and the players association have made "significant progress."

While news of this transpiring might be lost in the shuffle amidst the largely contentious nature that has colored the NBA lockout thus far, Wednesday's meeting signaled a make-or-break point to the NBA season.

Earlier in the week, Commissioner Stern issued an ultimatum to the players union to accept the standing offer on the table by the owners association by Wednesday evening before it would be rescinded and a lesser offer was made.

On the eve of Commissioner Stern's deadline, the players union held a press conference to reject the offer, but also issued an invitation to meet with the owners association Wednesday afternoon.

It appears that both sides have come to the understanding that a line in the sand has been drawn, and failure to achieve a deal in principle at this point in time would only lead to option B: decertification.

Such a scenario would fall in the league's favor, as the NBA has already taken preemptive measures should the players union file a petition for decertification. Furthermore, the venue for these legal proceedings would be held in second circuit court, of which the ruling in the case of Maurice Clarett v. the NFL would prove influential.

Having said that, exploring the option of decertication, regardless of outcome, would all but certainly lead to the cancellation of the 2011-2012 NBA season.

Thus far, the primary issues of contention in labor discussions have revolved around the division of basketball-related income between the players and owners and taxation rules/penalties.

Assuming that a deal could be reached in principle sometime by Thursday or Friday, a tentative time frame ranging from the end of December to the beginning of January would be an appropriate guesstimate of when the season would begin.