NEW YORK — NBA owners and players are trying again to end the lockout before it can do further damage to an already-shortened schedule.
They resumed negotiations Saturday with federal mediator George Cohen, who faced a difficult task in trying to help the sides close the financial gap that derailed talks again last week.
The two sides met for more than five hours.
Hall of Famer and Charlotte owner Michael Jordan, plus Portland billionaire owner Paul Allen, joined the bargaining, along with the usual owners’ labor relations committee. Both are believed to be hard-liners who want to offer the players an economic deal even worse than the proposal they already have rejected.
Owners are determined not to give players anything more than a 50-50 split of basketball-related income. Players, who were guaranteed 57 percent under the old collective bargaining agreement, have proposed a reduction to 52.5 percent.
A person briefed on the owners’ position Friday told The Associated Press that there were many hard-line owners who want a deal at 53-47 in their favor plus a hard cap, and that the rest wouldn’t go beyond a 50-50 split.
