"The N.B.A. and the players union are meeting with greater frequency as time dwindles for reaching a new labor agreement and avoiding the league's first lockout since 1998.

Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver spoke Tuesday before the N.B.A. lottery. In vague terms, Stern described progress in collective bargaining sessions with Billy Hunter, the union's executive director. The labor agreement expires June 30, after a season in which the N.B.A. has recorded substantially higher television ratings.

Silver said that a bargaining session would take place next month during the N.B.A. finals at the site of the Western Conference winner — either Oklahoma City or Dallas."