Officials from the NBA and the players' union will meet again Wednesday in New York City, according to sources close to the situation.
The meeting will be only the third since the league locked out its players on July 1. But if Wednesday's meeting is productive, sources said the sides are expected to pick up the pace and come together again Thursday and perhaps Friday.
The meeting will include only a handful of representatives from each side, as was the case last week when the parties met for six hours.
Commissioner David Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver and San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the owners' labor relations committee, will represent the league. Union director Billy Hunter, counsel Ron Klempner and president Derek Fisher will attend for the players.
While the gulf between the two sides remains huge, sources say the tone of last week's meeting was productive and provided at least a small degree of optimism that the season could be salvaged. With roughly two weeks remaining before training camps would have to be canceled, the sense of urgency to get a deal done has picked up on both sides.
Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine.