Time for a deal

Professionals that have been involved in high-level negotiating have told me that you know it's time for a deal when both sides realize they're not going to get everything they wanted.

You get to a point where you try to squeeze out a little more but you basically know when it's time to take what's on the table because there won't be any improvements.

Are we not at that point right now in the NBA stalemate?

Charles Grantham, former executive director of the players' association, spoke to Eric Smith and I on Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590 and he said it has become downright embarrassing and that it's time to start playing basketball.

As Grantham remarked, if both sides continue to stand on pride and define the result as a "win-lose" scenario, it's setting up a recipe for disaster.

Currently, the owners have an offer on the table that would see the players to receive between 49 per cent and 51 per cent of basketball-related income, down from the 57 per cent the players previously received.

The players told the media they rejected the owners' current proposal. But according to NBPA president Derek Fisher, they were open to "continue discussions on potential compromise on our number, our basketball-related income (BRI), our economics for some continued improvements in our system."

I'm not taking sides because there is culpability on both sides of the table. It looks like the players are ready to move, again, if they get some give from the owners. So there it is, if the owners give just a bit on some of the system issues there will be a deal.

But will the owners move, even a bit, or will the standoff continue?

Will Commissioner David Stern's promise of a reset offer proposed Monday, which is worse than the current offer on the table, force more movement from the players union?

It certainly doesn't appear to be that way. According to a on ESPN.com, there are some hard-line owners who will not budge an inch no matter how close the two sides are to a deal.

Regardless, Stern kept the pressure up by reiterating what the players have to look forward to if they do not change their collective minds and accept the offer.

Perhaps the players should heed the words of some of the NHL players. Remember the hockey crew went down this same road in 2004-2005 and ended up losing an entire season.

In reflection, some NHL players that were intent on holding the line echo earlier sentiments and when it’s time to do the deal, swallow your pride and take what you can get.

For those that are optimistic, and I like to see the glass half-full, although my optimism is waning with the continuous "cries of wolf", it's the deals that are done outside of the public eye that often help overcome an impasse. After all, remember the last time the NBA and its’ union were at loggerheads, it took a clandestine hotel meeting before there was any movement toward a settlement.

There were only a handful of people in the room that night when the breakthrough was made. Hey, maybe that will be the case here but don't hold your breath. As long as both sides are holding news conferences to continually deepen their line in the sand, the recipe for disaster continues to have new ingredients dumped into the mix.

At this point there are the three options; dig in, cave in, or give in. We have already seen the first option and while neither side is giving any thought to option two, maybe if they both considered option three, and gave in, just a little, a deal could be done.

Paul Jones is the voice of the Raptors on the FAN 590 and writes regularly for Sportsnet.ca.