NBA commissioner David Stern and players' union director Billy Hunter began negotiations on the remaining points of their tentative labor deal Friday and were expected to continue talking Saturday, sources said.
If enough progress is made, the two sides are expected to take Sunday off and resume Monday.
The objective is to have a completed deal to present to the executive negotiating committees for both sides Wednesday and then conduct an electronic vote Thursday, in time for Friday's targeted start of training camp and free agency, according to sources.
Teams have been slow to make offers, several agents with free agents have said, presumably because they are wary about just how extravagant they can be under the terms of a new labor deal they have yet to see in full.
Ric Bucher is a senior NBA writer for ESPN The Magazine.