National Basketball Association

Clippers' Gordon says players not ready to give in

Published Oct. 16, 2011 1:04 a.m. ET

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Eric Gordon believes his fellow NBA players will stand strong throughout the lockout.

About 60 minutes before the Indiana Hoosiers started basketball practice Saturday night, Gordon told reporters at his former college that he did not believe players would fold under the pressure to save the NBA season.

''It's hard to say, but I don't think the players are going to give up so easily,'' he said.

The comments came one day after Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee said a few players were ready to give in to the owners' demands though, McGee added, the majority would continue to fight.

Gordon, who played one season at Indiana, concurred with the second part of McGee's assertion.

He said he has attended some negotiating sessions and has been getting regular updates. During the wait, Gordon said he is working out and hoping the two sides can reach an agreement.

But Gordon also thinks the league's owners have more leverage at the moment.

''It's kind of tough because the owners almost have the upper hand in terms of what we have to give,'' Gordon said. ''It almost seems like the owners always come with something new and different every meeting.''

The lockout, which began in July, already has wiped out the first two weeks of the regular season.

The sides are scheduled to meet in front of a federal mediator Tuesday, a session Commissioner David Stern has said could determine whether there will be games by Christmas.

Gordon agreed with that assessment.

''I'd say Tuesday determines a lot of what's going to be done through the first half of the season,'' he said. ''All I've been doing is working out.''

Working out is about all most players can do right now.

Gordon and former college teammate D.J. White played in a lockout league game last month in Indianapolis. Gordon is scheduled to appear in a similar game Oct. 24 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

White, also an Indiana alum and NBA player, attended Saturday night's festivities in Bloomington and acknowledged he, too, would be willing to continue playing in those games.

But, like everyone else, White would rather get back to work.

''I'm just working out, working out every day,'' said White, who has promised to keep his growing beard until the lockout ends. ''That's pretty much all you can do now. I'm bored out of my mind, so that's about it.''