Late Monday night, NBA commissioner David Stern followed through on a threat to cancel the first two weeks of the 2011-2012 regular season. Stern said that there remained a significant gap between the two sides, and that with each day that passes, further reductions of the regular season are likely.
In Washington, the Wizards will lose fives games from their regular season schedule, including home dates with the New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, and Chicago Bulls. The Wizards will also have a road trip through Florida cancelled, losing games against the Magic and the Miami Heat. They were scheduled to begin their preseason slate this week before previous snags in the negotiations forced Stern to cancel the preseason. Right now, the Wizards are scheduled to begin their season on the west coast, opening up against the Lakers on November 15th - but if the negotiations to this point are any indication, it's unlikely that trip will remain scheduled.
On the players' side, representative Derek Fisher said that they had prepared for this and anticipated losing regular season games. Neither side seems sure of what the next step will be, as no further negotiating sessions are currently scheduled.