Deadlines and Commitments - LXXV

'Tis the season for holiday giving ... and planning for next year. Right after the New Year, the Nets are likely to sit down and seriously discuss what they can do to improve the team's chances for a deep playoff run. Starting that first week, the deadlines come quickly.

January 7 -- Players can be signed to 10-day deals. Under the CBA, players can only be signed to two consecutive 10-day contracts, after which they must be waived or signed for the remainder of the year. The Nets currently don't have any roster openings. A 10-day contract lasts 10 days or three games, whichever is longer. (Normally, the 10-days can be signed January 5, but since it's a Saturday in 2013, the date moves back to Monday, January 7.)

January 10 -- All contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season. Neither Andray Blatche nor Josh Childress were given a guaranteed deal in September. Nets must decide by this date to keep them for the remainder of the year. Blatche will surely be signed for the rest of the season. The Nets are likely to hold on to Childress as long as they can since his $1 million non-guaranteed contract could be an attractive piece in a larger trade. Other teams will have the same decision to make on non-guaranteed deals. The Bulls, for example, are unlikely to keep Nate Robinson, according to recent reports.

January 15 -- Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries can be traded. Players who receive significant salary increases like Lopez and Humphries are given an extra month before they are eligible for a trade.

January 18 - Next edition of "The Association: Brooklyn Nets."

February 15-17 -- 2013 NBA All-Star (Houston). NBA will announce the site of the 2014 NBA All-Star Game. Brooklyn and New York are leading candidates. With owners and GM's all in one place, this is when trade talks intensify.

February 21 -- 2013 NBA Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET). Also, the Nets two trade exceptions both valued at around $1.3 million and acquired in the Gerald Wallace trade, expire. They are unlikely be used because they are so small. They can be used in larger trades under certain circumstances.

March 1 -- The so-called "second trade deadline." A player waived by today can still be eligible to play in the post-season. Players who want to play for a contender will often ask to be waived or bought out by March 1. The basic rule is that if a player isn't on an NBA roster --or waived-- March 1, teams can sign them and they'll be eligible for playoff rosters. Rosters are submitted to the league office one day after the regular season ends.

April 20 -- 2013 NBA Playoffs begin. They better be in them!

June 27 -- NBA Draft, site TBA, but likely Prudential Center. Nets have their own first round pick, but no second round pick. Last year, the Nets used $2.75 million of their $3 million cash limit to buy second round picks used to acquire Tyshawn Taylor and Tornike Shengelia. They'd like to keep some or all of this year's $3 million so they have flexibility on Draft Night.

June 30 -- Presumably, C.J. Watson must decide on his player option for 2013-14. If he opts in, he will be paid $1.1 million.

July 1 -- Jerry Stackhouse and Keith Bogans become unrestricted free agents. If Blatche and Childress remain with the team past January 10, they too will become unrestricted free agents,