NBA commissioner David Stern has cancelled the first two weeks of the 2011-12 regular season after several hours of meetings failed to result in a new labour deal with players.
Stern said he is cancelling 100 scheduled regular season games through November 14 after the two sides in the contract dispute met for seven hours on Monday.
Stern said the latest effort to end the lockout of the players and begin the season on time failed because the owners and players are far apart on a number of key questions.
“We just have a gulf that separates us,” Stern said.
“With every day that goes by, I think we need to look at further reductions in what’s left of the season.”
All of the NBA’s 114 pre-season games have already been wiped out by the dispute.
No new talks have been scheduled but owners and players said they plan to keep in touch.
“I started out by saying I’m sorry to report, and I’m sad to report, that we’ve cancelled the first two weeks,” Stern said.
“We certainly hoped it would never come to this. We think that we made very fair proposals. I’m sure the players think the same thing.
“But the gap is so significant that we just can’t bridge it at this time.”
Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, owners Peter Holt of San Antonio, Glen Taylor of Minnesota and James Dolan of New York, and senior vice president and deputy general counsel Dan Rube represented the owners in talks on Monday.
They met with union executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers and vice president Maurice Evans of the Washington Wizards, and lawyers Jeffrey Kessler and Ron Klempner.
There is still three weeks before the start of the regular season, so the two sides could still reach a deal in time or possibly end up in court.
Each has accused the other of unfair labour practices which the National Labour Relations Board is looking into. The owners also filed a lawsuit in US federal court against the players’ union.
The owners locked out the players on July 1 when they failed to reach a deal before the expiration of the old collective bargaining agreement. The NBA’s opening night was scheduled for November 1.