UPDATED: Dave Checketts: NBA lockout is over … maybe

According to Dave Checketts, who recently served as an adviser to the Detroit Pistons, the NBA lockout is over.

Jason Shepherd of ESPN 700 says that Checketts said on the air that the players have agreed to a deal.

Welcome back basketball!

UPDATE: Shepherd has another Checketts-related tweet:

"Dave Checketts said on @espn700 he’s hearing the new CBA is 10 year deal with a 50/50 BRI"

Other beat writers on Twitter are checking in with sources and saying Checketts announcement is premature. We’ll see if he is forced to walk back his statement.

UPDATE 2: I listened live online to ESPN 700’s  Dave Checketts interview after seeing the initial reports on Twitter. Checketts had to break away from the interview momentarily. I’m not sure whether he was checking an urgent message on his phone or was relayed an important message in person, but I imagine the substance of the message was clear: not so fast. At the conclusion of the interview he admitted to hearing “new information” that made the finalization of the deal, and i’m paraphrasing, not as clear as he thought at the start of the interview.

Whether the league and players union just don’t feel quite ready to announce the news or if there has been an actual step back.