Sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard that Miami's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New York's Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Boston's Paul Pierce are among the star players scheduled to attend in support of the union's executive committee, which includes New Orleans' Chris Paul.

David Stern said Wednesday the owners and players "are not near a deal," but there is a level of optimism around the league.

Kevin Durant wants Russell Westbrook to remain with the Thunder and made it clear that there isn't a rift between them.

“We butt heads just like any other players because we are both competitive, we both want to go at it, we both have ideas,” Durant said in a phone interview with Yahoo! Sports on Saturday while on the movie set of his upcoming Warner Bros. film, “Switch.” “That’s going to happen. But I support him 100 percent. Of course, I hated when people were saying the stuff they were saying, and he hated it as well. I didn’t want it to get to his head. I hate when people try to creep into the group and try to break things up.

“I enjoy playing with Russell so much. I hope he understands that, and I’m sure he does. I’m looking forward to next season already. The last thing I’ve been worrying about is what people say about Russ, and I’m sure that’s the last thing he’s worrying about as well.”

Durant said he is “confident” that Westbrook will stay with the Thunder.

“I don’t want any other point guard,” Durant said. “He’s perfect for us, the type of guy he is, the type of player he is, the type of teammate he is. We’re all competitive, especially me and him. We get the best of each other in practice every day, and we want to go at each other and make each other better. We are going to have disagreements. That’s what all good players on good teams do.”

Kevin Durant remains undecided if he will sign a deal to play overseas during the NBA lockout.

"Stay here," said Durant when asked what he wants to do.

“That could change tomorrow,” Durant added. “That could change in the next hour.”

Durant has been linked to Besiktas, the club that signed Deron Williams in July.

“I've thought about it before and I really was close to making a decision about doing that,” Durant said of possibly signing overseas. “But I kind of stopped a little bit once I heard things were kind of moving a little better with the lockout. But one day it's good and one day it's bad. You never know.”

Byron Mullens has signed a deal with Panionios of Greece during the NBA lockout.

Mullens will be reunited with former Ohio State teammates Jon Diebler and Zisis Sarikopoulos.

"Basically I was pretty much just waiting to hear about what's going on with the lockout and was talking to my agent about it," said Mullens. "And we decided to see if we could get a deal going overseas to play. I've been working out all summer. We thought it'd be best to just get a different feel. You can only get better to a certain point working out by yourself."

Nick Collison and Royal Ivey organized a meet up of 10 members of the Thunder in Austin on Thursday.

Kevin Durant and Ivey are alums of Texas and work out with each other every summer. They served as hosts last week for their teammates.

Collison, Ivey and Durant were joined by James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Nazr Mohammed, Eric Maynor, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and rookie Reggie Jackson.  

Five members of the team were absent, with Serge Ibaka playing for Spain in EuroBasket, Thabo Sefolosha at home in Switzerland and Byron Mullens coming off his wedding.

Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins were not in attendance also.

Kevin Durant made his points on and off the court Saturday, throwing down thunderous alley-oops during a charity pickup game and saying afterward that the players will not give in to the owner's demands in the ongoing labor negotiations.

With the lockout delaying the start of the season, Durant, John Wall, and other NBA players headlined the "Clash of the Superstars" at Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C.

Byron Mullens has signed a one-year contract with Panionios.

The deal has an out clause should the NBA resolve its current lockout.

Mullens is under contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kevin Durant continues to eat like a college student, preferring unhealthy options rather than those that could help him add bulk and improve his conditioning.

“This past year, I was really big on eating a lot of foods with vegetables. That's all I really ate this past year was foods with vegetables,” Durant said. “I'm trying to stay away from the red meats and the fast food as much as I can, even though it's tempting.”

Durant, who has employed a chef during the season the past three years, recently hired a new cook to cater meals and ensure he's staying away from fatty foods.

“In the summertime is where I really kind of take a step back,” Durant said. “So I got to be mentally stronger and have more discipline and try to eat right.”