Wait! No NBA season this year?

This is a real possibility.

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker is headed to France to earn less than $2,000 monthly playing for a team of which he also serves as vice president. Any day now, the L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant could be headed to Italy, where he's expected to earn about $3 million playing 10 games. Just like that, what seemed like random speculation among players is turning into the real deal. The NBA is headed overseas; well at least its main stars.

The NBA has been in a lockout since July, almost immediately after ending one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory. At first, I thought that the negotiations would stall for a while as both sides jostled for position. But eventually, just like the NFL, there would be an agreement at the 11th hour to save the day. But it doesn't appear that any agreement is imminent. As of today, all preseason games have been canceled and the league is threatening to cancel the first two weeks of the season if no agreement is reached by Monday. Considering that both sides walked away from negotiations with not so much as a hint of agreement in sight, it's all but certain that the league would honor its threat.

What exactly is the reason for the breakdown? The players association is asking for 53 percent of all basketball-related money generated to go to the players. Last year, the players received 57 percent of that income. Team owners however offered 46 percent of the revenue to be shared among players, and only went up to 47 percent in talks held today. It doesn't take a math whiz to understand that both sides are nowhere near a compromise. NBA Commissioner David Sterns threw out a 50-50 split consideration to the players union, but even admitted that an equal split may not be OK'd by the team owners even if the players were to accept it.

So for basketball diehards like me, it may be time to brace the possibility that we may not have a season to look forward to this year. The last time the league had a lockout was in '99, which was eventually shortened to just 50 regular season games (normal regular season play involves 82 games.) Judging by the Twitter comments from some of the league's stars, and increased talk about players headed overseas, it may be time to put any hopes of a season to sleep. Said New York Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire on his Twitter handle earlier today, "Met with the NBA owners today, made no progress. We as players are a lot smarter then (sic) they think. We are prepared to boycott. #StandProud."

If you think this is about the league's highly paid stars demanding fatter paychecks, NBA insider Chris Broussard reported that the players say the deal they want would have little effect on the big name players and veterans, but will ensure that the rookies and future NBA players are not stiffed. It's unfortunate that both sides cannot reach an agreement for the good of the league's popularity and entertainment. Though the NFL's negotiations were different, the NBA could learn a thing or two from the NFL on how to close the deal in the final hour.

Meanwhile, I'd like to hear whose side of the power struggle you are on. The owners, who have to take care of the over costs of running an NBA team or the players, who sacrifice their bodies (for the most part) on the court, and without whom there will be no league? Share your thoughts.