NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Sunday echoed optimism that a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association would be reached soon.
Silver said he thought a deal could be done in time to avoid a work stoppage after this season.
"I'm not going to put any more specific timetable on it than that, but that we continue to meet," said Silver, who spoke in Shanghai ahead of the 10th Global Games in China. "In fact, the head of the players' association, Michele Roberts, was in Spain, where I just came from, where she was accompanying the Oklahoma City Thunder. We had an opportunity to speak there as well. So we continue to be engaged on a regular basis. I remain optimistic that we're going to get something done relatively soon."
The NBA and players' association have recently expressed optimism over reaching a new agreement in the coming weeks.
The current 10-year deal, signed in 2011, has a Dec. 15 opt-out clause, but both sides want to get a deal in place before then. Negotiations on the last CBA lasted until December 2011, which reduced the 2011-12 season by 16 games.
Silver spoke at a news conference to announce an NBA partnership with BesTV to broadcast 1,300 games in China.
"In terms of our present bargaining discussions with the players, I'd say they're going very well and there's been a great sense and spirit of cooperation across the table and desire to move forward," Silver said. "There's a sense from both the owners and the union management that there is a lot at stake here, and I think everyone's feeling the pressure from all the constituents involved in this league for all the jobs that we provide that it's incumbent upon us to work something out and to get a deal done."
An update on the negotiations is likely to come in two weeks, when Silver makes his annual October address after a board of governors session.
