Mid-level staff members from the players’ association and league office are meeting Friday to discuss various housekeeping issues, and to possibly set a date for the next official labor negotiating session between the two sides, sources close to the discussions told SI.com.

This would appear to be the first formal contact between the two sides since the league locked out the players two weeks ago when the last collective bargaining agreement expired. The NBA and the union remain far apart on several core issues, including how to split up the league’s revenue among the teams and players, and how to define what goes into that revenue pool to begin with. The union has also questioned the accuracy of the league’s claim that teams collectively lose hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

One purpose of Friday’s meeting is to confirm the basketball-related income total from the 2010-11 season, sources said.