NBA Cancels Preseason Games, Postpones Training Camps

Layna Dewell, News9.com

NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association announced Friday that all preseason games scheduled from Oct. 9 through Oct. 15 have been canceled and player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely.

Thursday's meeting between the players and owners failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement to end the lockout that began on July 1 thus resulting in the cancellations.

"We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games," said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. "We will make further decisions as warranted."

Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3 and exhibition openers were set to tip off Oct. 9.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder, this means its first two preseason games will not be played.

OKC was scheduled to open the preseason Oct. 12 at Utah and play its first home preseason matchup Oct. 14 against Charlotte but both will be canceled because they fall into the time period of games canceled by the NBA.

A Thunder spokesperson confirmed Friday that neither of those preseason games will be played and that although OKC's training camp was scheduled to start Oct. 4 that it will not begin until after an agreement is reached.

According to the NBA web site, preseason games after Oct. 15 could also be in jeopardy if the league and players do not reach an agreement by the end of this month or very early in October.

Although an agreement has not been reached yet, both sides still hope the entire regular season that is scheduled to begin Nov. 1 can be saved.

Since the lockout began on July 1, NBA owners and player have yet to agree on how to divide revenues. Under the previous deal, players were guaranteed 57 percent, or the structure of the salary cap.

The next round of talks have not been formally scheduled, but Thursday both sides said they hope to meet again next week.

When asked Thursday if he thought things were far enough along to still believe that was possible, Commissioner David Stern said: "I don't have any response to that. I just don't. I don't know the answer.''