Carmelo Anthony says he's 'skeptical' CBA done by Thursday

ByRAMONA SHELBURNE
December 10, 2016, 5:41 PM

— -- LOS ANGELES -- After months of optimism on both sides, Carmelo Anthony now says he's "skeptical" that the NBA Players Association and owners will be able reach a new collective bargaining agreement before Thursday's deadline.

"I'm skeptical of something getting done," Anthony, who is vice president of the NBPA, told ESPN after the New York Knicks practiced Saturday in Los Angeles. "Do I think something could happen by the 15th? Yeah, I think something could happen. But I think this kind of put a dent in conversations.

"We had something so close. We were supposed to have a deal done weeks ago, and for this to happen at the 25th hour is tough."

Sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that control over licensing matters and the use of player likenesses has emerged as a significant issue in the latter stages of NBA labor talks.

The NFL Players Association, for example, has control over licensing and the use of player likenesses. In the NBA, licensing control is maintained by the league in exchange for an annual flat fee in the millions, but the NBA Players Association has been known to covet an arrangement more in line with the NFL's for some time.?

Sources on both of ?sides of the negotiating table nonetheless expressed optimism Saturday night -- despite the late snag and Anthony's pessimistic forecast -- that a new labor deal remains within sight.

Thursday is the deadline for either side to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement. But the league and union would actually have until June 30, 2017, when the current CBA expires, to hash out a new deal in the event either side opts out.?

But the sides, as Anthony noted, have been close to a deal for some time, with one source telling ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin that representatives for both parties have been meeting multiple times daily within the past week.

Anthony declined to go into the specifics of the late snag in collective bargaining talks, but he reiterated that "as players, we want to get a deal done."

Talks between the players association and the owners have been ongoing. Until this latest snag, both sides expressed optimism that a new deal would be announced well in advance of Thursday, which NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently said has always stood as the "real" deadline for a new deal because that's the final date by which either side can opt out of the current CBA.