LOS ANGELES — The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) took advantage of this weekend’s All-Star festivities to get together for a private meeting in Los Angeles Saturday and agree on four ways to improve relations between the two sides.

The two unions released a joint statement announcing the results of the meeting, which included three players, three referees and officials from both unions, according to a report from ESPN.

The actions agreed to are the following: Enhanced education and clarification around the “Respect for the Game” rules, the opening of an additional channel of communication for future conflicts, plans for future meetings and discussions and a broad review of existing rules and regulations and developing joint recommendations to enhance them.

“In this meeting, we took some important steps in identifying existing frustrations for both sides,” said NBPA executive director Michele Roberts in a statement. “Now with that information, we plan to move forward and continue to work together to find solutions that will enhance the on-court experience for both parties.”

“Our two unions met out of the necessity to examine issues that have previously been left unaddressed,” said NBRA spokesperson Mark Denesuk in the same release. “We look forward to continued collaboration between our two organizations to explore common interests.”

Growing tensions between players and referees has been an oft-discussed topic in the NBA this season. The NBPA and NBRA intend to continue to meet through the spring and into the summer in order to make further progress toward improving relations, according to the joint release.

NBA chief considering

playoff reseeding

Among the areas the NBA is looking at ways to improve is playoff reseeding, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed at his annual All-Star Weekend press conference Saturday.

Being considered is the idea of continuing to take the top eight teams from each conference, but then seeding them from 1-16, regardless of conference. Such a system could pave the way for the top two overall teams facing in The Finals regardless of conference.

“You also would like to have a format where your two best teams are ultimately going to meet in The Finals,” Silver said. “You could have a situation where the top two teams in the league are meeting in the conference finals or somewhere else. So we’re going to continue to look at that. It’s still my hope that we’re going to figure out ways.”

A chief concern for Silver regarding the considered change remains travel scheduling. Among the solutions Silver offered up is creating a more balanced schedule in order to accommodate the potential of more frequent cross-country trips in the playoffs.

“Maybe ultimately you have to add even more days to the season to spread it out a little bit more to deal with the travel,” Silver said. “Maybe air travel will get better. All things we’ll keep looking at.”

Any such change would require approval from 20 of the 30 teams.

LeBron ‘will not just

shut up and dribble’

LeBron James made it clear Saturday that he has no intention of keeping his mouth shut and dribbling a basketball.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star said after Saturday’s NBA All-Star Game practice in Los Angeles that he will “talk about what’s really important” when it comes to the state of race relations in America.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized James earlier this week for expressing his opinions, including the quickly infamous “shut up and dribble” comment.

“I will not just shut up and dribble,” James said during his media session. “... So, thank you, whatever her name is. ... I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important and how I can help change kids.”

The NBA superstar says it is his duty as a parent and role model to use his platform to speak for those that don’t have a voice.

“To be an African-American kid and growing up in the inner city with a single parent mother and not being financially stable and to make it where I am today, I feel like I defeated the odds,” said James. — Agencies