Optimism grew late in the night on Wednesday as the NBPA and NBA continued another long bargaining session and word leaked out that the two sides may be getting nearer to an agreement.

One person briefed on the discussions described himself as "incredibly optimistic" that a deal will soon be done.

Wednesday at 5 p.m. EST was supposed to be the deadline, after which the NBA would issue a "reset" proposal to the union that would contain a smaller share of BRI for the players and far more restraints on their player contracts and free agency.

But as the hours have gone by, and the deadline passed, it is believed that the two sides have remained engaged on re-working the so-called 'system' issues that were part of the NBA's take-it-or-leave-it offer of last Friday.

The union came into Wednesday's meeting finally ready to reduce the players' share to 50 percent, the number that the NBA had been pushing for a number of weeks.  In exchange, the players are seeking a more favorable system before an agreement is reached with the owners.