Several of the top player agents told Yahoo! Sports they have serious concerns about NBPA executive director Billy Hunter’s ability to negotiate against David Stern and the NBA.

“Do I feel comfortable with Billy Hunter at the table with David Stern?” one of the NBA’s elite player agents said. “No, I don’t. We’re so overmatched that it isn’t funny. And the players don’t have the [courage] to hang in there very long without a paycheck. The only thing that the league fears is decertification. They don’t want to go down that road. They just want to negotiate as long as they can because they believe the players will crumble.

“The owners want to destroy the players in this deal. They want the whole system to change. We have one bullet and it’s decertification.”

Agents have questioned Hunter's ability to rally players together to fight the league office.

“I’ve supported the union in the past, tried the other way and each time the players’ rights have been eroded,” another prominent agent told Yahoo! Sports. “To me, I think we need to decertify.

“Stern doesn’t have the new owners in his back pocket like he did the ones before. These owners are different. It’s easy to go out and start wars, but to have the strength and fortitude to see it through is a whole different game. Wait until people are suffering consequences in this, and we’ll see how the owners who are talking tough on the players will be when they’re going through the ups and downs of the battle.”