After nearly two months of mostly silence, the NBA and the players' union have arranged for a meeting this week, prior to Labor Day.

The two sides have met just once since the lockout was imposed on July 1.

There has been some uncertainty as to the date of the next meeting, mostly due to concerns about Hurricane Irene. But a pre-Labor Day sit-down with the union is something NBA commissioner David Stern has been looking forward to for a while.

“If Labor Day comes and goes without us huddled in ready to kiss off our Labor Day weekend to make this deal, then we may be headed to a bad place,” Stern said during an ESPN.com podcast earlier this month.

It’s unclear if NBA players will be involved in the next meeting, but the Associated Press is reporting that union executive director Billy Hunter and president Derek Fisher, along with deputy commissioner Adam Silver and Stern, will be in attendance for the negotiations.

It’s unlikely that a great deal will get resolved with the differences that exist between the two sides when it comes to revenue sharing and salary cap issues. But opening up the dialogue does give hope that the entire 2011–12 season will not be lost, as some people fear might happen.

Contact Terrance Harris at terrancefharris@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Terranceharris

(Photo: The Republican/Landov)