clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Nets Hardly Taking Off for the Summer

The roster isn't set. Some players could leave. Some could arrive. The Nets in fact have had a seven-player turnover in just the past week and a half, losing Richard Jefferson and DeSagana Diop while gaining Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson, and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

That said, fans should have an almost constant stream of games featuring Nets' talent, some of them available on television, others online. In fact, over the next nine weeks, at least one Net player will be playing competitively somewhere in the world almost daily. Yi Jianlian and Nenad Krstic will be the busiest.

July 4-6 - Team China vs. Australian All-Stars, Ningpo, China. Yi Jianlian will try to dominate the paint against a team of all-Stars from the Australian National Basketball League in a two-game exhibition set outside Shanghai.

July 7-11 - Orlando Pro Summer League, Orlando. Rookies Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts will join Sean Williams, Maurice Ager and Julius Hodge in Orlando for the 15-game summer league. The other teams in the mix are: the Magic, the Heat, the Bulls, the Sonics, and the Pacers. That means the league will likely feature the #1 (Derrick Rose), #2 (Michael Beasley), #4 (Russell Westbrook) and #10 (Brook Lopez) draft picks.

July 17-July 20 - Borislav Stankovic Cup, Hangzhou, China. Yi Jianlian will compete in this annual FIBA tournament. He is training for it currently in China. He could face off against Andrei Kirilenko of Russia on July 19. In addition to China and Russia, the national teams of Iran and Angola will compete.

July 21-24 - Team USA vs. USA Select Team, Las Vegas. Devin Harris has been invited to play for the USA Select Team, a group of young stars who will provide the US Olympic team with competition in three days of practice. Harris of course would be going up against Jason Kidd.

July 21-24 - Rocky Mountain Revue, Salt Lake City. The Nets will play for the first time in the Jazz Summer League. Marcus Williams, who didn't play in Orlando, is scheduled to play here. The other teams competing: the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, a D-League All-Star team and the Iranian National Basketball Team, FIBA's Asian Champion. Among the notables in the Revue will be Anthony Randolph, Marco Belinelli and Brandan Wright of the Warriors, George Hill of the Spurs, Al Horford and Acie Law IV of the Hawks and Gerald Green of the Mavs.

July 25-27 - Mechel Cup, Moscow, Russia Together with Russia, Latvia and Ukraine, Nenad Krstic's Serbian National Team will take part in this Olympic tournament which for Russia will be a tune-up for the Olympics, for the others a tune-up for European competition later in the summer.

July 29-August 1 - FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament, Nanjing, China. Yi Jianlian is part of the host nation's team in this annual tourney. Nenad Krstic committed to play with Serbia in this tournament January when he told an ESPN chatroom this January: "It's an honor to play for my National Team and I'm looking forward to playing this summer." The three day tournament also includes Angola, Australia, Argentina and Iran.

August 10-24 - Olympics, Beijing, China. Yi Jianlian can be expected to play a major role for China in the Olympics. If Slovenia gets into the Olympics via the Qualifying Tournament, Boki Nachar could play in Beijing.

August 20-September 6 - Eurobasket 09 Qualifying Tournament, Bormio, Italy. Serbia didn't qualify for the Olympics last year, so it must play in a qualifying tournament to get in the European championships next year in Warsaw. Nenad Krstic and his Serbian teammates will play a round-robin tournament in northern Italy against other teams, including Italy, Finland, Bulgaria and Hungary.

October 9-12 - NBA Europe Live 2008. The Heat, with Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley will take on the Nets at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy in Paris on Oct. 9. The teams will then travel to London for their second contest on Oct.12 at The O2 Arena.