NBA Owners And Players Tip-Off Talks Toward New CBA

NBA owners and players began preliminary talks toward a new CBA yesterday in N.Y., and ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reports the league's finances were discussed, "as well as key points of contention with the current agreement — including the current state of the luxury and escrow tax — but no formal proposals were exchanged." NBA Commissioner David Stern, Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik, NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter, Suns Chair Jerry Colangelo, Spurs Chair Peter Holt, Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander, Grizzlies President Jerry West, Heat Managing General Partner Micky Arison and C Alonzo Mourning, Raptors F Antonio Davis and Magic F Pat Garrity were in attendance for the four-and-a-half hour meeting. Stern: "I don't think we're expecting profound changes to come out of these (initial) meetings. This is about a group of maybe 10 players and 10 owners getting a dialogue going." Talks will continue later this week (ESPN.com, 5/6).