With the season nearing an end and Mikhail Prokhorov still not approved as Nets owner, time is running short for the' front office to begin preparing for the draft, free agency and coaching search. Here's a list of key dates for the ownership transfer, NBA Draft and free agency...after the jump.
April 3 - Deadline for residents and businesses to leave the Atlantic Yards footprint. If they have not left by then, the Empire State Development Corp. will seek orders to have them removed. The judge in the condemnation case has discretion in vacating the premises.
April 7-10 - Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. College seniors travel to Virginia for the annual draft prospect tournament.
April 12 – Last home game of the season, vs. Charlotte. Last NBA game at the IZOD. Hearing that morning in Brooklyn on the last remaining critics' lawsuit. No decision expected that day and it's highly unlikely to have an effect on construction.
April 14 – Last game of the season, at Miami. What's the record?
April 15 - Coin flip day. If there are ties for draft position, teams flip a coin at NBA headquarters in New York. The Nets and Bucks tied for 10th spot last year, but lost the coin flip to Milwaukee.
April 15-16 - Earliest date Mikhail Prokhorov can be approved as Nets owner. Board of Governors meet in New York. It's unclear whether the vote can go ahead if Brooklyn premises have not be vacated by then.
April 25 - NBA Draft Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
April 29 - NBA Teams can conduct or attend workouts with Early Entrants
May 8 - NCAA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5:00 p.m. ET).
May 18 – Before a conference championship game, representatives of the 14 non-playoff teams gather in Secaucus for the NBA Draft lottery. John Wall's fate is determined.
May 19-23 - NBA Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago. Fifty-two top prospects gather in Chicago the morning after the Lottery to be measured and interviewed, then show off their skills to NBA GM's.
June 5-7 - Adidas Eurocamp. Although this is not seen as a top year for Europeans players, the best will gather in Treviso, just outside Venice, for the international version of the Pre-Draft combine.
June 14 - International Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5:00 p.m. ET)
June 24 – NBA Draft, Madison Square Garden, New York (7:00 p.m. ET). Nets' $1.37 million trade exception, the remainder of the Vince Carter trade exception, expires.
June 29-30 -- Nets must exercise team options for Keyon Dooling ($3.82 million with a $500,000 buyout) and Chris Douglas-Roberts ($854,389). Kris Humphries must exercise his player option ($3.2 million). Contracts for Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe as well as the rest of the Nets' coaching staff expire. Of front office and coaching staffs, only Bobby Marks, Thorn's VP of basketball operations, has a contract beyond June 30.
July 1 - NBA teams can begin negotiating with free agents. Expect reports of signings almost immediately. Nets can renounce cap holds for players with expiring contracts.
July 8 - NBA teams can officially begin signing free agents.