Al Iannazzone seems to be itching to get back to covering the Nets.  He's been covering baseball, enduring a 62-minute rain delay Wednesday night.  Maybe that's when he wrote a column suggesting some optimism that a deal could get done before the season opener on November 1.

"Two league sources believe the NBA season will begin in November with one saying he could see it starting on time," writes the Record reporter. "This could be wishful thinking on their parts – and ours, too – but there seems to have been some movement recently." Staffers from both sides met in New York yesterday will full-blown talks to resume Thursday.

• Clock winding down for NBA to get a deal done - Al Iannazzone - The Record