What we know about the late-stage CBA negotiations

What stage are the talks at?

"Late stage," says the Washington Post. The key line from that article: "Players have made concessions on key issues," but it doesn't look like that includes free agency.

Will there be a strike or lockout?

Well, maybe. There's no lockout (league-initiated) yet, and there's no strike (player-initiated) yet. And let's remember that if there isn't either and there's no CBA, the season could start if they agree to continue with the terms of the previous CBA until a new one can be established — but players have said they won't do that.

We don't know if there will be or won't be one or the other. Some indications are that a strike is very likely, other indications are that it's not terribly likely.

What will happen if there's no agreement by the opener?

Well, we wouldn't have the opener.

So ... will there be an opener?

Here's hoping, but if we don't see an agreement ... well, you know. If we don't hear something positive by Thursday, maybe don't plan on an opener. There isn't a lot positive that's coming out right now — but that's also the nature of negotiations.

Again, that Post article: "Without a deal, or signs of major progress, players are not expected to board their flights."

Did Dell Loy Hansen's quotes make a tangible impact?

It doesn't really look like it, but we wouldn't really have any view into that.

What's the issue at hand?

It's still free agency — at least publicly. Maybe it's also about brown M&M's, but I don't think so.