NBA Lockout: Owners' Proposals Prove Players Would Be Smart to Concede

When the NFL players agreed to a revised collective bargaining agreement with the NFL in July, they undoubtedly made some concessions.

While some believed the players had given up too much, the fact of the matter was, both sides came to an agreement in part because of the players' compromise.

That may be what the NBA Players Association is facing right now, as the clock ticks on a shortened season and the NBA is adamant things will get worse for the players if they don't agree to a new CBA when meetings resume on Monday.

Said a person "directly involved with the negotiations," via ESPN:

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"It's time to think rationally about what we're talking about here. This is the deal. We've come too far. We've talked it out. This is the deal and there are things in this deal that neither side will like. Everyone made concessions. It's time to decide. We all talk about these arena workers and the effect this has on the local economy, all those things. If we mean what we say about those workers, this deal gets done and the season starts Dec. 15."

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Starting on Dec. 15 would still mean a 72-game season, which wouldn't be that bad considering the circumstances. The players are reportedly deciding between a 50-50 split of basketball-related income or a split between 49 percent and 51 percent, depending on economic projections.

Under the new CBA, teams would still be able to use the mid-level exception, the luxury tax would rise after the third year of the deal and contracts could not exceed past five years while annual raises for players would be reduced to 6.5 percent.

Let's just say players aren't particularly excited.

Said Minnesota Timberwolves player representative Anthony Tolliver on Sunday, via ESPN:

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"I was a little bit more hopeful last week than I am this week. I'm trying not to be too negative but it's kind of hard not to when it's been this long and this many meetings. It's hard not to get continuously more pessimistic by the day. Hopefully this deal will blow me away in a good way. But it's hard to believe that's going to be the case."

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Tolliver's statement may mark the primary problem in getting a new deal done: The players still are taking on a hard stance and refusing to give in to the NBA's proposals. If they are actually expecting to be "blown away" by proposals this late into negotiations, they have another thing coming. It's only going to get worse as the NBA adjusts to make up for its losses week after week.

Monday may truly be do-or-die time for the players. They can either go in and compromise or be prepared to sit out the rest of the season.

This is as good as it's going to get for the players in labor talks, as unfair as it may seem.