Key negotiators for both the NBA players and owners emerged from a five-and-a-half hour meeting Tuesday with no significant progress made.

The likelihood now is that the season won’t start on time. All indicators point to the fact that Tuesday's meeting, which many hoped would bring the two sides together, ended with players and owners unable to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement that would end the lockout. No future meetings are scheduled at this point.

Union president and Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher said he will inform players that “the way it looks right now, we may not start on time.”

Union representatives say they were willing to make significant concessions but the owners were unwilling to negotiate, writes the Associated Press.

The post-meeting talk was also rather somber.

“Just finished a long day of negotiations. Unfortunately we are No Where Near a deal! It's def disappointing!,” NBPA VP Roger Mason tweeted.

"The owners are unwilling to move off of the position on which they've anchored themselves," said NBA union executive director Billy Hunter.

According to an AP report, the two sides remain far apart on how to split revenues between players and owners. The owners are also demanding some type of hard salary cap, which the players want no part of.

So, after a week of showing signs that a deal might be close, the reality is that the continuing stalemate will likely impact the 2011-12 season.

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

(Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)