Talk about a backdoor cut. The announcement Thursday that negotiations to end the NBA lockout would resume were followed by reports that some players are investigating the possibility of decertifying the union. The NBA players union said it would begin negotiating with the owners again Saturday, maintaining that the players are unified as they seek to end the lockout. Union president Derek Fisher, executive director Billy Hunter and executive committee members said after meeting for about three hours Thursday that there was no truth to reports of a rift among them. “We've had no problems, and that's the reality,” Hunter said. Hunter said they spent no more than 10-15 minutes total on a conference call earlier this week and during Thursday's gathering discussed the reports questioning Fisher's allegiances. “The battle is not within our union,” Bucks guard Keyon Dooling said. “Derek Fisher's the best president our union has ever seen. We'll stand as committee members – I'm the first vice president and I stand behind him.” Later Thursday, however, there were reports that a group of about 50 disgruntled players held a conference call with an antitrust lawyer about the possibility of pursuing decertification of the union. Yahoo! Sports and The New York Times reported that the players would consider employing the tactic if union leaders made more concessions in negotiations. Thirty percent of players would have to sign a petition and then a majority would have to vote in favor for decertification. Mere talk of decertification could give the players' side leverage in negotiations. On Wednesday, the NBA had asked federal Judge Paul Gardephe to rule that the NBA's lockout will not be considered an antitrust violation if the players dissolve the union. Gardephe did not immediately rule, but appeared skeptical of the arguments made by league attorney Jeffrey Mishkin. Owners and players haven't met since talks broke off last Friday. Hunter said federal mediator George Cohen contacted him earlier this week about possibly rejoining the negotiations. The conversation led to Hunter calling Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday about resuming talks, though it has yet to be determined whether Cohen will be involved.
