NBA players rejected David Stern's latest offer, a day before the Commissioner's ultimatum deadline, which threatened that offers would only get worse from here on.
Embattled union executive director Billy Hunter reiterated that the deal was not fair for the players.
"The players are clearly of the mind that it's an unacceptable proposal," union executive director Billy Hunter said. "But because of their commitment to the game and their desire to play, they're saying to us that we want you to go back, see if you can go back, get a better deal."
While the offer did not beget a formal vote from the players' union, Cleveland Cavaliers guard, oldest player on team (36 years old), and player representative Anthony Parker was among the consensus of players firmly against accepting the deal as proposed.
"Once the league's offer was spelled out clearly (during Tuesday's meeting), everyone said it was worse than they thought."
So, the players rejected the deal that hard-line Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is assumed to have never even wanted to offer in the first place, considering it to generous to the players.
The Cavaliers were slated to open the season on Nov. 2, and if last season was any indication, a late start might not bode well for the team: Cleveland won one game combined in December and January a year ago.