In the most recent attempt at putting an end to the ongoing NBA lockout, players and owners met for nearly four hours on Friday to try to extend the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Via ESPN

Wade and Stern got into a heated argument:

While meeting with the owners, Stern pointed at Wade while making a comment, a source told [ESPN The Magazine's Chris] Broussard. Wade felt as if Stern was belittling him and yelled at the commissioner.

“You’re not pointing your finger at me,” Wade said, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher. “I’m not your child.”

The sides then went their separate ways for a cooling-off session, but several of the players had heard enough. Sources said Stern then asked to speak separately with [union executive Billy] Hunter, who then returned to speak with the players and was able to convince them to rejoin the owners in the meeting.

One source told Broussard the move by Hunter was a lifeline for Stern, who would not have looked good had the league’s top players stormed out with 10 owners present.

The labor meetings are expected to continue throughout the weekend with players hoping to keep 53% share of the league’s basketball-related income while team owners are looking to cut that share to 43%. Apparently, Wade, James, and other players are willing to sit out the season in order to fight against the decrease.

A deal needs to be made within the next week to avoid the cancellation of early regular season games.

Melo arriving at the meeting yesterday

Wade after the meeting yesterday

 

Read More about the Meeting Here