NBA players authorize return of union

NEW YORK (AP) - NBA players have authorized the return of the players' association, with more than 300 submitting the necessary signatures to a third-party accounting group.

The union must re-form before players and owners can continue negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. The hope is to complete the CBA next week so both sides can ratify it in time to open training camps Dec. 9.

"This is good news and completes another step in the process of finalizing our agreement," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

When talks with the NBA broke down Nov. 14, the NBPA disclaimed interest in representing the players, paving the way for them to file an antitrust lawsuit against the league. But negotiations continued despite the litigation, and a tentative agreement was reached early last Saturday.

The union needed at least 260 signatures from players to be received by the American Accounting Association by the end of the day Thursday and had easily surpassed that number by the close of business.