NBA Postpones Training Camps, Cancels 43 Preseason Games

(NewsCore) - With little progress made toward a new collective bargaining agreement, the NBA announced Friday the postponement of training camps and cancellation of 43 preseason games as the lockout heads toward a fourth month.

"We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time," said NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver.

Training camps were set to open Oct. 3 and the first preseason games were scheduled for Oct. 9.

The announcement was expected after another round of negotiations Thursday failed to move any closer to a deal. NBA commissioner David Stern said talks would resume next week.

According to Yahoo! Sports, the league will decide by Oct. 1 whether to cancel the remaining two weeks of preseason games, scheduled for Oct. 16-28.

The NBA regular season is scheduled to begin on Nov. 1.

Thursday's meeting came a week after a highly-anticipated negotiating session ended with both sides claiming the other was unwilling to compromise on the core issues.

Following the Sept. 13 talks, union chief Billy Hunter said players were being advised they may have to sit out half the season before a deal could be reached.

The owners, claiming that many teams were losing money under the old system, declared a lockout July 1 after the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

The key issue is the salary cap system that will be used. The owners want to implement a hard cap, similar to what is used by the NFL and NHL, but the players have not budged in their desire to keep the same salary cap structure in place.