Special All-Star Edition. The Nets will send three All-Stars to Orlando (and the Armor will send four more, including two who participated in the Nets training camp). Deron Williams, Marshon Brooks and Anthony Morrow will all be there. Did we mention the game is in Orlando? Yes. Did we mention Dwight Howard might be giving interviews. No, we didn't but he will. Should be interesting.
You'll note that we are no longer reporting the team's new colors and logo will be unveiled in February. That's because the team is now saying it will be happening in "spring" and although it feels like like spring, it's still February.
February 22 - First day Mehmet Okur can be traded in multi-player deal. He can traded one-for-one at any time. Nets vs. Magic in Newark. Nets play Magic last game before the All-Star Break, first game after the trade deadline.
February 24 - Marshon Brooks will play for Team Chuck in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. Coverage starts at 9 p.m. He will be coached by Mike Fratello.
February 25 - D-League All-Star Game. Coverage starts at 2 p.m. Assuming none of them are called up by then, three Armor players will be in the lineup for the Eastern Conference All-Stars: JamesOn Curry, Jerry Smith and Jeff Foote. L.D. Williams of the Armor, defending champ, will compete in the D-League Dunk Contest.
February 25 - Anthony Morrow will compete in the Foot Locker Three Point Shootout, Part of All-Star Saturday Night. Coverage starts at 8:00 p.m.
February 26 - Deron Williams plays in NBA All-Star Game in Orlando. Coverage starts at 6 p.m. Pundits doubt the Magic want to see Dwight 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. Mikhail Prokhorov vs. Vladimir Putin. Prokhorov unlikely to win (or make the run-off if Putin doesn't get 50 percent of the vote). If he wins, or if Putin appoints him prime minister, which is, surprisingly, more likely, Prokhorov has said he will put his Nets shares in a "blind trust", with independent trustees in charge of major decisions.
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
March 25 - Should Mikhail Prokhorov finish second to Vladimir Putin (and Putin get less than 50 percent of the vote on March 4), this would be the date of the runoff.
April 23 - Last regular season home game for the Nets in New Jersey, 7:30 at Prudential Center vs. the 76ers
April 26 - Regular season ends with Nets vs Raptors. in Toronto, last game for the New Jersey Nets unless they make the playoffs.
May 23 - Earliest completion date for exterior skin at Barclays Center
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 very well be the last pick in the draft.
July 1 - Teams can contact free agents. For those thinking tours of the Barclays Center might be in order that week, the arena should be looking a lot like the finished product, with the scoreboard and other LED installation nearly complete and seating almost all in place.
July 11 - Teams can begin signing free agents.
July 27 – August 12 - 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Deron Williams likely to be only Net playing at the Olympics. France did not offer Johan Petro a slot on Les Bleus, its Olympic team. Mehmet Okur hasn't played for Turkey's "12 Giant Men" since the 2007 World Championships.
September 5 - Expected completion date for Barclays Center. Expect a couple of shakeout events in early September. Moved back from August 27.
September 28 - Opening Night, Barclays Center. Jay-Z will open the arena with a series of concerts.
October 2 - First sporting event at Barclays, a preseason NHL game between the Islanders and Devils.
October 17 - Arena construction documents list this date as first 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.