According to a report by HoopsWorld, NBA league sources have set September 15 as the last possible date for the NBA owners and the players union to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement for the 2011-2012 NBA season to be unaffected by the lockout.
If that date passes and no agreement is reached, training camps and pre-season games will start getting cancelled. League officials say that the loss of even one pre-season game will have the same impact as if the entire pre-season is lost, from an economic and financial standpoint.
At that point, HoopsWorld reports, sponsors are likely to change their advertising plans, and patrons who purchased season tickets will begin asking for refunds.
The pre-season is scheduled to begin on October 9, and the first regular season game on November 1.
