The latest twist in the ongoing NBA lockout is a potential rift in the players union, and the so-called nuclear option of union decertification being considered earlier this week. According to Adrian Wojnariowski of Yahoo! Sports, as many as 50 NBA players held a pair of conference calls this week with an antitrust attorney without knowledge of the players union.
"The players, frustrated with the deal union officials have been negotiating, held a call on Tuesday to discuss the state of labor talks with the NBA, and explored their options on Thursday with the antitrust attorney, sources said," according to Wojnarowski.
Decertification the union might be the best use of leverage the players have, but it would also likely increase the odds of an entire NBA season lost. Both the league and its players are expected to meet again this weekend, and as a source told Wojnarowski, "This is not about [union executive director Billy] Hunter and [players union president] Derek Fisher. The players want to know how to push the needle here. If talks this weekend don’t produce 52 percent, they want to know what options they have."
Regardless of what Wojnarowski's source may say, it has been a tough week for Derek Fisher. Earlier in the week, he had to send an email to the players explaining that he was not secretly negotiating a deal with NBA commissioner David Stern, and even threatened to sue Jason Whitlock and Fox Sports for insinuating that Fisher was working with the league for his own personal gain.