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Bartelstein already has had conversations with the Mavericks about Cardinal and Stevenson. Cardinal, 34, has made it clear he'd like to return to the Mavericks, and a one-year contract might get that done. Stevenson, 30, may be more interested in a multiyear deal, which could be problematic. "We've certainly talked, and we're working on it," Bartelstein said. "Right now, it's tough to say where it's headed. Both guys are very interested in being back." Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Mark Bartelstein, Brian Cardinal, DeShawn Stevenson 

The Lakers made contact Wednesday with the representative for free-agent guard Shannon Brown on the first day NBA teams could talk to agents. Brown has been the main backup to Kobe Bryant in recent seasons. Brown opted out of a contract that would have paid him $2.37 million this season; he made $2.15 million last season with the Lakers. "We talked about Shannon but it's a little early to see where it goes," agent Mark Bartelstein said Wednesday. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Shannon Brown, Mark Bartelstein 

Sam Amick: Just spoke with Adam Morrison's agent, Mark Bartelstein, about reports Ammo was opting out in Serbia. It's not quite that simple. He doesn't have an opt-out, but they are in the process of working out a deal to free him up. There is "a ton" of NBA/Overseas interest and it appears Morrison will likely be freed up to pursue it with a good faith gesture from Red Star Belgrade. Twitter

Adam Morrison, Mark Bartelstein, Serbia, Agents, Belgrade 

Mark Bartelstein, who represents 36 players including Pistons guard Will Bynum, said the players took the action of filing a "disclaimer of interest" as a last resort. "Of course the players didn't want to do this," Bartelstein said. "They wanted to get a deal done, they made a ton of concessions, all the way to giving down $300 million a year to the owners." Detroit News

Law, CBA, Mark Bartelstein, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Agents 

The players turned down commissioner David Stern's "take it or leave it" earlier this week, which was followed by lawsuits being filed in California and Minnesota. "They don't want to miss a season; they don't want to miss 20 games," Bartelstein said. "But there comes a point when you do what you have to do. The alternative is to agree to a deal you think is unfair, (so) you do what you have to do." Detroit News

Law, CBA, Mark Bartelstein, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Agents 

Angered by commissioner David Stern's assertion that greedy agents are imperiling the possibility of reaching a collective bargaining agreement, high-profile agent Mark Bartelstein fired back Sunday night -- telling CBSSports.com that it is the owners, not the agents, who are being greedy. "The greed that's being exhibited in this negotiation is strictly on the part of the NBA owners and nowhere else," Bartelstein said. "When the union has shifted well in excess of $3 billion over the course of this deal from players to owners and that's not good enough for the owners, that's the definition of greed." CBSSports.com

CBA, Mark Bartelstein, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Agents 

"If the players are going to make the concessions to address over $300 million a year in a shift in revenue from the players to the owners, the one thing the players should get back is flexibility, freedom, freedom of choice and a more vibrant and free-market system, because it's a zero-sum game," Bartelstein said. "Instead, they're ratcheting down the system in the name of competitive balance, and that's completely disingenuous. CBSSports.com

CBA, Mark Bartelstein, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Agents 

Bartelstein said he has spoken with union executive director Billy Hunter in recent days to share his thoughts about the state of the negotiations and the options at the players' disposal. Hunter convened a meeting of the players' executive committee Sunday night in advance of a meeting with player reps and potentially other players at 9 a.m. ET Monday in Manhattan. As was the case last week, the player reps will decide whether the owners' proposal should be presented to the full body for a vote, or whether it should be rejected or sent back to the league with suggested amendments and a request for further negotiation. Stern has said the league does not plan to revise the proposal again, and that it is the last one that realistically could provide the players with a 72-game season starting Dec. 15. CBSSports.com

CBA, Mark Bartelstein, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Agents 

Hunter, though, has rival factions within his own house to contend with. He acknowledged in a Tuesday night interview with NBA TV that a fast-moving decertification push driven by agents and frustrated players -- most notably Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce -- has "close to" 200 players in the process of signing a petition that would call for a decertification vote. The movement, sources said, has grown to include more than the original seven agents (Mark Bartelstein, Bill Duffy, Dan Fegan, Leon Rose, Jeff Schwartz, Arn Tellem and Henry Thomas) who have been advocating decertification for months. "I think you'd be surprised how big it's gotten," said one source, who added that "the wheels are in motion" and that signatures are already "coming in pretty quickly." ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce, CBA, Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

Sources within seven of the most prominent agencies – including the agents and players themselves – said they have overwhelming support to march toward dissolving the union. The agents are selling decertification to the players as a leverage tool to get a deal done to salvage the season, as much as a long-term threat to take the owners to federal court with an antitrust lawsuit. Agents working on the decertification include Mark Bartelstein, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Bill Duffy, Leon Rose, Henry Thomas and Dan Fegan. Yahoo! Sports

CBA, Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

If a new labor deal was not completed within that 45-day span and a second vote is sanctioned by the NLRB, decertification would then require a simple majority vote of the league's 450-odd players to pass. At that point, players would have the freedom to sue the NBA under antitrust law and attempt to bring an end to the lockout via court system. Yet there are widespread fears around the league that, if decertification gets that far, any hope of playing even a reduced schedule in 2011-12 would be lost. The so-called "Big Seven" agents who pushed for decertification throughout the summer -- Mark Bartelstein, Bill Duffy, Dan Fegan, Leon Rose, Jeff Schwartz, Arn Tellem and Henry Thomas -- have long believed that the league's desire to keep this labor battle out of courts via the decertification process would force Stern and the union's owners to bargain more fairly during the 45-day "grace" period. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Derek Fisher, CBA, Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

Mark Bartelstein on David Stern’s comments after it was announced that the first two weeks of the regular season were cancelled: “I heard a lot of them and I’m probably biased on this thing obviously, but I also think I try to be very objective about it. For me it’s hard to sit here and listen to David’s comments. I know what he is doing. He is a master at spinning this thing. I don’t think he gives a real, fair, picture at all in terms of what is going on in negotiations. The fact of the matter is the players have come a long, long way and have made huge concessions already in the spirit of trying to get a deal done and have not been met at all by the owners. They’re looking for blood and they’re pushing a system that would set back, not only the NBA, but professional sports a long, long way is what they’re trying to get accomplished in this deal.” Sports Radio Interviews

CBA, Mark Bartelstein, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Agents 

Mark Bartelstein on the deal that was previously in place: “In my opinion the current deal is not a good deal for the players. That’s where there’s a lot of misinformation out there. In the free agency system that now exists in the NBA it’s not a true free agent market. In any given year you generally only have two or three teams maybe four or five at most that have real cap room. Last year was an anomaly because you had all these teams that saved money for a long period of time because all those free agents were coming on the market at the same time. In a given year you generally only have a small handful of teams that have cap room and you’re a star player, let’s say a point guard, and those teams that have cap room don’t have a need for a point guard you have nowhere to go. We’re in a system right now that believe me is very, very restrictive and yet the players are making concessions in the current system to try to help the owners get what they’re asking for. In any business when it is all said and d one ultimately what determines your success is the decisions you make. If you own a business and make good business decisions you have a chance to be successful. If you make bad decisions you’re not going to be successful. I don’t think it’s all on the players to make this thing fool proof for the owners.” Sports Radio Interviews

CBA, Mark Bartelstein, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Agents 

Until this week, players who signed overseas went because of the fear of canceled games. Now that the cancellations have begun, could it spur a greater migration? Will other star players depart? The answer to both question is probably not. The greatest reasons are convenience and money. “There’s not a lot of jobs,” said Mark Bartelstein, whose agency, Priority Sports, has 15 clients playing overseas. “The season’s under way over there, so everybody’s got their rosters full. Is there potential that there may be some team that wants to try to carve out some opportunities for players? I think that’s possible. But the economics are not such that there’s a lot of teams that can afford to do that.” New York Times

Free Agency, Mark Bartelstein, Lockout, China, Europe, Agents 

The seven agents who sent NBA players a "warning letter" on Monday held a conference call Wednesday afternoon to discuss their next move in the league's lockout, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Those agents -- Arn Tellum, Bill Duffy, Dan Fegan, Jeff Schwartz, Leon Rose, Henry Thomas and Mark Bartelstein -- had been strong behind-the-scenes advocates of decertification for the Players Association but, according to the source, now believe that the time to do so has passed. The letter, which was first reported by ESPN's Ric Bucher, has been widely viewed by players and others around the league as anti-union. ESPN.com

CBA, Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, Lockout, NBPA, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

The seven agents who sent NBA players a "warning letter" on Monday are holding a conference call Wednesday afternoon to discuss their next move in the league's player lockout, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Those agents -- Arn Tellem, Bill Duffy, Dan Fegan, Jeff Schwartz, Leon Rose, Henry Thomas and Mark Bartelstein -- have been strong behind-the-scenes advocates of decertification for the NBA Players Association. The meeting was expected to begin at 2 p.m. ET. ESPN.com

Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, Lockout, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

The letter, which was first reported by ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher, has been widely viewed by players and others around the league as critical of the union's leadership. But one of the agents said Wednesday that the call will center on how the agents can best help union executive director Billy Hunter get a fair deal for the players, rather than on pushing for decertification against the union's wishes. ESPN.com

Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, Lockout, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

Sam Amick: He was, the agent says, a key power player in relationship between William Wesley and Rose that has led to much of CAA's recent growth. Twitter

William Wesley, Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, Lockout, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

Sources say the letter, a copy of which was obtained from a player who received it, was jointly composed by Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group; Bill Duffy of BDA Sports; Dan Fegan of Lagardere Unlimited; Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management; Leon Rose and Henry Thomas of Creative Artists Agency; and Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports and Entertainment. ESPN.com

CBA, Leon Rose, Dan Fegan, Mark Bartelstein, Henry Thomas, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, NBPA, Arn Tellem, Jeff Schwartz, Agents, Bill Duffy 

Mark Bartelstein on the notion that agents are scheming to "blow up" the union: "There's an inaccurate perception out there that there's this group of agents -- including myself -- that have decided to quote-unquote blow up the union, or destroy the union, and nothing could be further from the truth. That's not true at all. I know that I, personally, and other people have engaged and try to engage with Billy and [NBPA lead attorney] Ron Klempner and everyone at the players' association throughout this process. "I've been the first one to say that Billy is in a very, very difficult position. He's in a very tough position, because the NBA has taken an extremely hard-line stance from Day 1. The initial proposal [from the owners] ... was Draconian to say the least, and Billy is in this position where he's trying in good faith to get a deal done, but you can't negotiate by yourself. SI.com

CBA, Mark Bartelstein, Lockout, NBPA, Agents