Players' association chief Billy Hunter has called for his executive committee members, as well as some of the league's superstars such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, to meet Friday in New York, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
And commissioner David Stern is summoning some of the league's owners together for a meeting amongst themselves.
Stern and Hunter will share with their constituencies where negotiations stand at this point, and then the owners and players might come together to meet with one another, sources said.
In addition to Chris Paul, Maurice Evans, Roger Mason and other members of the executive committee, Bryant, James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce and others stars have been invited to the meeting Friday.
It wasn't immediately known which players have yet agreed to attend the meeting.
The proposed gathering does not necessarily signal a closing of the gap that separates the owners and players, sources said. Instead, with the season scheduled to start Nov. 1, it is to provide clarity as to where negotiations stand and give each side a better idea of whether they have a chance to salvage the 82-game season.
By Friday we'll know if there will be a full-season or a shortened season. Big day, indeed.
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