By Jahmal Corner

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBA owners and players are far apart on key negotiating terms and need to work out their differences or the league risks its second work stoppage in 13 years, Commissioner David Stern said on Saturday.

The current agreement expires June 30 and while Stern said a meeting between the owners and players' association on Friday was cordial, he did mention a similarity from the work stoppage that delayed the start of the 1998-99 NBA season and shortened the schedule by 32 games to 50.

"We had a huge gap back then and we have a huge gap now," Stern told reporters ahead of Saturday's All-Star festivities at the Staples Center. "Of course we are smarter now than we were then. We've already experienced a lockout. We know what it feels like."

Stern, who spoke with the media for about 40 minutes, would not offer specifics of the negotiations but said disagreements are mostly based around contractual components.

There is concern that the NBA is becoming a league that thrives at the top and does not provide equality for its middling franchises.

Those fears may have been best exemplified last year when two-time reigning NBA most valuable player LeBron James spurned the Cleveland Cavaliers by joining forces with fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

"Our goal in these negotiations is to come up with a system where all 30 teams over a period of time have the ability to compete," said Stern, "We don't think that your ability to pay taxes (for a higher pay roll) should be a part of the competitive landscape."

One potential resolution to balancing powers in the NBA is the proposal of a franchise tag, which would help teams hang on to certain players scheduled to become free agents.

Stern said the idea is one that could enter negotiations. He also acknowledged that contraction is a subject that could be raised but did not single out specific franchises.

While the owners and players have yet to find much common ground they can all agree on one thing.

"We have a job to do, and we would be well-advised to do all we could to get it done," said Stern. "I would say there's a broad, general consensus on that."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)