Last week saw NBA player and owners hold talks where apparently both sides sat around and stared at one another for several hours.  Then both walked out saying that scheduled training camp opening and the first two weeks of preseason games would be cancelled.  

Well done.

Here's the thing, in any negotiation both sides generally establish (at least) three cases - best, worst and a middle case that they think represents a likely compromise.  The best case represents the other side completely capitulating to all demands, essentially a dream come true.  The worst case reflects not complete capitulation on every point, but the worst acceptable deal.  Anything less favorable than that and whatever consequences come of not making a deal are deemed preferrable.  The middle represents, generally, what you think you have to get, what you think the other side has to get, and what you're willing to give up, or take, to reach agreement. 

Both sides have surely established these three cases in some fashion. Of course it is more disjointed than that as some owners or players have different "must win" conditions.  Even so, both sides have a pretty good idea of what a deal looks like.  Pretending that either "Best Case" is possible is almost certainly naive on the part of both players and owners.  

 The ongoing posturing and hard-line stance is ridiculous when the season is now in actual danger of slipping away.  There are only a couple more weeks before regular season games start getting clipped.  That costs both sides money.  Some sort of middle case is likely.  Both sides know this. 

There are evidently going to be more meetings tomorrow.  Perhaps each side will attempt to make the deal they have more or less known they would make all along.  Here's hoping.