Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

With the labor deal close to a settlement but camps not opening until Dec. 9, NBA players are looking to expedite their training for the upcoming season. Joe Abunassar, founder of Impact Basketball, will hold a “one-week boot camp” at Impact’s Las Vegas facility this week, which will include “both intensive training sessions and 5-on-5 games,” Hoopsworld reported.

Knicks guard Chauncey Billups and Celtics forward Kevin Garnett are expected to attend, and Tayshaun Prince, Baron Davis and Corey Maggette also may be among the many NBA players who will participate, according to the site.

Impact Basketball held a two-week summer league for locked-out players in Las Vegas in late August/early September. The company also has a facility in Los Angeles, where Ricky Rubio has worked out in preparation for his debut season with the Timberwolves.

Meanwhile, Amare Stoudemire has decided not to host a minicamp for his Knicks teammates at the IMG Training Facility in Bradenton, Fla., because Carmelo Anthony and Billups were not in favor of the idea, Newsday reports.

Anthony and Billups instead want to hold workouts in New York so Knicks players can get settled before the season begins on Christmas Day. The Knicks are scheduled to host the Celtics in the first game of the new NBA season.

“There’s no time (for Stoudemire’s minicamp),” a source told Newsday.

Players will not be allowed into NBA team facilities until the labor deal is finalized, which could take another week, the report notes.

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