HoopsHype.com Rumors

Jeffrey Kessler, one of the union’s bulldog negotiators during the lockout, has been added to the team to fight for Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak’s Bird rights in today’s arbitration showdown with NBA lawyers, according to a source. New York Post

New York Knicks, Free Agency, David Stern, Jeremy Lin, Steve Novak, Jeffrey Kessler 

Ben Golliver: Allen said the criticism from Hunter and Kessler surprised him because he was in the meeting just to take notes not send a message. Twitter

Portland Trail Blazers, Paul Allen, Lockout, Billy Hunter, Jeffrey Kessler 

Adrian Wojnarowski: Amazing. Several of the NBA's Labor Relations Committee members went to bed believing there would be no deal after Kessler called into room. Twitter

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler 

Adrian Wojnarowski: Attorney Jeffrey Kessler joined the talks via speaker phone to make 51-49 proposal to league, source says. Stern, Peter Holt shot it down. Twitter

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Peter Holt, Jeffrey Kessler 

Sam Amico: Same NBA GM: "Jeffrey Kessler is the worst thing that's happened to the NBA since Tim Donaghy. Except Donaghy was way less sneaky." Twitter

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Tim Donaghy, Jeffrey Kessler 

The final push came with the involvement of a new figure: Jim Quinn, a former outside counsel to the players union, who was hired by Hunter last week to help restart the talks. Quinn essentially replaced Jeffrey Kessler — the current outside counsel — as the lead negotiator for the players when the parties resumed talks on Tuesday. That meeting set the stage for Friday’s critical session. N.B.A. officials regarded Kessler as a contentious negotiator who has been an impediment to a deal. Quinn, a partner at the Weil, Gotshal law firm, is highly regarded by all parties and has a strong rapport with league officials, most notably Stern. Oddly, neither Quinn nor Kessler was present for Friday’s meeting. Kessler participated by conference call. Quinn was replaced by one of his partners, Bruce Meyer. New York Times

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler, Jim Quinn 

Jeffrey Kessler nearly killed the deal. Again. Sort of. Kessler, the union's outside counsel, has been a lightning rod for criticism during this process and a frequent target of Stern for what the NBA believes has been a disruptive influence in the negotiations. On Friday, Kessler nearly torpedoed the negotiations again when he, via speakerphone, asked the NBA for a 51 percent of the basketball-related income. Stern and Holt, who have been vehemently opposed to giving the players any more than 50 percent, rejected the proposal. While Kessler was merely the vessel delivering the union's message, his offer infuriated representatives from the league and, according to a source close to the NBA's Labor Relations Committee, nearly ended the negotiations. The two sides stayed at the table, however, and, according to the source, eventually agreed on a band that will give the players between 49 and 51 percent of the BRI. SI.com

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler 

Howard Beck: Jim Quinn, the attorney who helped get talks going again, is not present, tho one of his associates is. Jeff Kessler is not here. Twitter

CBA, Lockout, NBPA, Owners, Jeffrey Kessler 

Spurs owner Peter Holt, chairman of the owners' labor relations committee, also was in New York for Friday's settlement conference on the 148th day of the lockout, as was former union president Derek Fisher, sources told CBSSports.com. Tempestuous players attorney Jeffrey Kessler will not be present. While Kessler still is "very much involved," according to a source, he no longer has the role of lead negotiator for the players and has been replaced in that capacity by Quinn, a voice of reason with a long history of deal-making with key figures and attorneys on both sides of the dispute. CBSSports.com

Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Derek Fisher, CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Peter Holt, Jeffrey Kessler 

Ken Berger: Players' lawyer Jeff Kessler will not be present today, but remains "very much involved," per source. Jim Quinn taking prominent role. Twitter

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler, Jim Quinn 

Too much is being made of Jeffrey Kessler’s absence from Tuesday’s talks. He remains a key player on the union’s negotiating team, even if he is not physically present at every single negotiating session. He has other clients, and he also has a life outside of the 80-100 hours he works each week. SheridanHoops

CBA, Jeffrey Kessler 

Zach Lowe: Jeffrey Kessler, union lawyer, WILL be involved in talks today, either via phone or in person, sources close to talks say. Twitter

CBA, Jeffrey Kessler 

Howard Beck: Much speculation on Kessler role based on my story. To be clear, did not say he's out. Just that Quinn now seems to be lead voice for NBPA Twitter

CBA, Lockout, Jeffrey Kessler 

It appears that Quinn may have supplanted Jeff Kessler, the union’s pugnacious outside counsel, as the players’ lead negotiator. Kessler has a contentious relationship with Stern and is viewed by some on the owners’ side as an impediment to a deal. New York Times

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler 

Ken Berger: Stern and Kessler loathe each other. Removing Kessler from lead role and putting measured, reasonable Quinn in room could be huge. Twitter

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler 

A source tells SheridanHoops.com that the most significant impediment to a deal remains the owners insistence on an escrow withholding system that would ensure that the revenue split for each season ends up being 50-50. Players have offered to have 10 percent of salaries withheld, but a problem has continually arisen when the sides have discussed what mechanism would make up for the shortfall if the 10 percent withholding did not get the players’ share down to 50 percent. Would the shortfall carry over into the next season? Or would the players have to make up the difference in some other way to balance the books at the end of each season to provide for a fresh start at the onset of the next season? SheridanHoops

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler 

Of all the system issues that remain in dispute, that is the most contentious one that could loom as a deal-killer. So take your turkey with a grain of salt today, folks, and don’t get overly comfortable when the tryptophan kicks in and you lay down for that afternoon nap. There are still a lot of moving parts here, along with a level of mystery that is a new, added twist to this 147-day trip down misery lane. SheridanHoops

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler 

Lawyers for both sides filed updates this week on an N.B.A. lawsuit against the players, which accused them of plotting to disband their union as a negotiating ploy. The players made that move on Monday after labor talks collapsed. In a letter filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the N.B.A. lawyer Jeffrey Mishkin seized on the union’s dissolution as proof of the league’s claims. Jeffrey Kessler, who represents the players, responded in a letter Tuesday. New York Times

Law, CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler 

David Boies, the lead lawyer for the players, is hoping that a hearing can be scheduled much sooner, in time to save the season. New York Times

Law, CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler, David Boies 

In his letter to Judge Paul G. Gardephe, who is presiding in the N.B.A.’s lawsuit, Mishkin reiterates the league’s accusation — that “on more than two dozen occasions,” the union “has threatened to abandon collective bargaining and commence antitrust litigation to challenge the lockout.” New York Times

Law, CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Jeffrey Kessler, David Boies