Deadlines and Commitments - XLVII

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012, the Year the Nets move to a billion dollar arena in Brooklyn ... and maybe add another superstar. It's likely to be the most significant year in the team's history, with a lot of the news being made off the court, at a construction site at Atlantic and Flatbush avenues and in general managers' offices around the NBA.

In this edition of Deadlines and Commitments, we add some nitty-gritty dates related to the trade deadline and beyond. So uncork another bottle of champagne and toast the Nets' hopes for 2012.

January 1 - Meaningless deadline for the Nets, only relevant for players seeking extend-and-trade deals. Dwight Howard and Deron Williams are planning to opt out of their deals in July, not seek an extension to their current deals. (If they did, they would be leaving tens of millions behind.)

January 9 - First day MarShon Brooks and Jordan Williams can be traded.

January 9-12 - D-League Showcase in Reno. All sixteen teams travel participate in games and skills contests similar to All-Star Weekend.

February - Brooklyn Nets will reportedly unveil their new colors and logo, but NOT their new uniform.

February 6 - 10-day contracts can be signed; Last day 13 players can dress and play. After this date, teams can dress 13 players but only 12 can play.

February 10 - Non-guaranteed deals become fully guaranteed. That would appear to apply to Dennis Horner, who is believed to have a non-guaranteed deal.

February 22 - First day Mehmet Okur can be traded in multi-player deal.

February 26 - NBA All-Star Game in Orlando. Pundits doubt the Magic want to see Howard in another team's uniform during All-Star weekend. However, what's the alternative? Having the All-Star Game dominated by trade talks? Choose your poison, Richard DeVos.

March 1 - First day teams can trade players they signed as free agents in 2011. For the Nets, that's Shelden Williams, Shawne Williams, Kris Humphries and DeShawn Stevenson.

March 4 - Russian Presidential Election

March 15 - NBA trade deadline, 6 p.m. ET

March 16 - Nets travel to Orlando.

March 23 - Last day to sign a player and have him be playoff-eligible

April 26 - Regular Season Ends, last regular season game in New Jersey. Playoffs anyone?

June 28 - NBA Draft in Newark. Number of picks currently owned by the Brooklyn Nets (and by this point they will be be the Brooklyn Nets): three, their own and the Rockets' (lottery-protected) first round picks plus the Heat's second round pick, which could be the last pick in the draft.

August 27 - Expected completion date for The Barclays Center. Might slip a few days. Expect a couple of shakeout events in early September.

September 28 - Opening Night, The Barclays Center. Jay-Z will open the arena with a series of concerts.

October 17 - Arena construction documents list this date as possible preseason game at the arena.

October 31 - Opening Night for the Brooklyn Nets, according to those same documents. Arena officials note that this is simply a target date, not set in stone.