From now on, it's mostly about player personnel matters: who gets their contract fully guaranteed, who gets a 10-day contract, who gets traded...for who, who gets drafted. Not to say what happens on the court doesn't matter. Of course it does. It's just that that schedule is well-known. They play the games, they win, they lose. This is about the other side of the front office: Billy King, Bobby Marks and Avery Johnson.
Here's the latest:
January 5 - 10-day contracts may now be signed. Nets haven't signed anyone to a 10-day contract in a few years, but it is all new and with three of the team's 14 players hurting to one degree or another, that could change.January 10 - All contracts become fully guaranteed. This is Ben Uzoh's decision day. If he is still with the team, or playing for the Armor while under contract with the Nets, his deal becomes fully guaranteed.
January 19 - Nets vs. Jazz. The Nets are planning "Russian Night" for the game vs. the Jazz...and Mikhail Prokhorov's pal, Andrei Kirilenko. Nets aren't saying when Prokhorov will be in town again, but this looks like a good bet: the start of a week-long, five-game homestand. Expect the future Mrs. Sasha Vujacic, Maria Sharapova, to get an invite. "She'd be welcome," said one Nets' insider.
February 18-20 - All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. Amidst the annual hoopla (Get it, Hoop-LA?), 30 GM's will be having face-to-face discussions. With the deadline days away, All-Star Weekend is often where trades get hatched or finalized.
February 24 - Trade Deadline is 3 p.m. Eastern Time (that's 1 p.m. Mountain). Last chance to dump big contracts before the collective bargaining agreement.
March 4-5 - NBA Games London, the first regular season NBA games in Europe. The Nets will play two "home" games vs. the Raptors at the 02 Arena in London. Nets will have three days rest before the first game and another three days after the second. Might Prokhorov make an appearance here too? Duh. Christophe Charlier, the Nets chairman and Prokhorov's #3, said last week Russians will be there "in force".
March 11 - First anniversary of Barclays Center ground breaking. Expect progress reports.
April 6-9 - Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Virginia. College seniors who are the cusp of the draft play against each other, the official opening of draft season.
May 17 - NBA Draft Lottery, NBA TV Studios, Secaucus, NJ. The lottery and the draft will both be in New Jersey this year. Do the Nets have a "home court advantage"?
June 23 - NBA Draft, Prudential Center, Newark. With Madison Square Garden undergoing needed renovations, the Draft moves across the Hudson to Newark.