National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern has set his sights on the regular season starting within 30 days as team owners and players prepare to resolve their labor dispute through mediation.

The NBA has already canceled its pre-season and the first two weeks of the regular season because of the protracted lockout and the two sides are scheduled to meet with federal mediator George Cohen on Tuesday.

"We would push as hard as possible to be up and running in 30 days," Stern told CNN on Monday about his hopes for this week's negotiations.

Asked what would happen if no deal was reached, he replied: "We keep negotiating and we keep losing games in the calendar."

Stern had already identified Tuesday as a potential make-or-break day.

"If there's a breakthrough, it's going to come on Tuesday," Stern said in an interview with NBA TV. "And if not, I think that the season is really going to potentially escape from us, because we aren't making any progress."