The NBA owners and the Players Association have reached a tentative agreement to end the five-month old lockout and start the 2011-12 season on December 25. After months of talks that recently turned contentious and involved the disbanding of the NBAPA, the two sides reached a handshake agreement a little after 3 a.m. in New York.

The Players Association still needs to reform as a union and hold a vote to ratify the deal. Word out of New York is the players will approve this deal because they are anxious to get back on the court and start earning pay cheques again. Some veteran players will vote against it because they feel they are caving, but most players are on board with the latest proposed CBA.

A possible thorn remaining in this process is the fact both sides still need to work out a series of smaller issues like a drug testing policy. However, nobody involved with this process feels this will be a stumbling block towards having a season.

“We’re optimistic that the [agreement] will hold and we’ll have ourselves an NBA season,” NBA commissioner David Stern said at a brief news conference held in New York.

As long as this deal is approved by both parties, free agency and training camps will start on December 9.