NBA Players Have Until Wednesday to Deal

NBA players: split any basketball-related income 50-50 with the owners, deal or no deal?

That's the question players must answer by Wednesday in the continuing negotiations during the NBA lockout.  But owners say the consequences of a "no deal" decision from the players could mean a harsher proposal that calls for rolling back their salaries.

The current proposal calls for players to receive anywhere between 49 and 51 percent of basketball-related income, though players contend that anything over 50.2 percent is highly improbable to get.

NBA Commissioner David Stern told the players told the players on Monday, "the only rational thing to do is for us to make that deal."

"We think that there's a great offer on the table and what we told the players is that it's getting late, the only rational thing to do is for us to make that deal because given what's going on in our business and industry, it'll get worse from there," Stern told ESPN.

Stern said the next deal would call for a 53-47 split in the owners' favor, along with a hard salary cap.

Stern set the deadline early Sunday morning after owners and players met for more than eight hours with federal mediator George Cohen.  Owners have insisted sticking at the 50-50 split of revenues, though some would prefer the league had already demanded the 53-47 split.

A long court battle would almost certainly wipe out the entire 2011-2012 season.  A month of games has already been canceled.

"We're all really concerned.  This is our livelihood.  This is our job," said Charlotte point guard D.J. Augustin after playing a pickup game with other NBA players in Houston.  "For ourselves, we want to get back to playing.  But we're also not going to just take any deal.  We're going to stay united, stay strong and just be ready whenever they call us back."

"I think Derrick Rose said it the best: 'I don't understand why millionaires and billionaires are arguing about money when there are people starving all over the world,'" said USC student Grace Wong, a junior print journalism major.  "It's incredibly frustrating and ridiculous.  Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, and it makes me upset that people are acting greedy and immature."