Deadlines and Commitments - LXXXI

With the hiring of Jason Kidd as coach, new dates get put on our calendar and others take on more significance. Kidd will be at PNY Center again Wednesday and Thursday for more Draft workouts, his first real assignment. He'll also head to Yankee Stadium Wednesday for another milestone.

June 19 - Kidd continues his round-the-clock promotion tour, throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. An All-State center fielder at St. Joseph's High School in Oakland, CA, Kidd will need no instructions.

June 27 -- NBA Draft at Barclays 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 Shengelia. If they don't use the $3 million on Draft Night, they lose it three days later. Tickets available here. The Nets are moving their Draft War Room to Barclays as well. Expect Kidd to be in place -- and on the air -- at the Draft.

June 30 -- C.J. Watson will likely make it official and opt out of his 2013-14 deal ... a $1.1 million vets' minimum plus 20 percent ... and become an unrestricted free agent. Also, contracts for basketball operations staff expire ... as does the Nets $3 million cash limit for 2012-13.

July 1 -- Andray Blatche, Jerry Stackhouse and Keith Bogans become unrestricted free agents. Free agents can begin talking with teams, but cannot officially sign until July 11. Rumors of signings begin hours after the midnight opening bell. New $3 million cash limit is put in place for the 2013-14 season.

July 7-12 - Orlando Summer League, which includes the Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers. Expect Taylor, Shengelia, Kris Joseph and the Nets pick(s) to participate along with some returning Springfield Armor players. What about Dominique Jones who the Armor signed after he was cut by Dallas? He and Kidd were teammates on Mavs' 2011 championship team. Will Bojan Bogdanovic play? He won't be signed but the Nets have played unsigned international draft picks before ... like last year with Shengelia.

July 8 - European teams will hold first familiarization practices in their home nations as they begin preparations for FIBA Eurobasket.

July 11 - First day free agents can sign contracts. Will Nets sign Bogdanovic? Nets are restricted to the mini-MLE of $3.2 million per over three years and the vets minimums, unless they can work a deal that gets them a trade exception. They can sign their own free agents and trade them but can't accept a player in a sign-and-trade.

Also, beginning of one-week amnesty period during which the 14 teams that can still drop players will decide what to do. Possible amnesty candidates include: Tyrus Thomas of the Charlotte Bobcats, Metta World Peace of the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlie Villanueva of the Detroit Pistons, Linas Kleiza of the Toronto Raptors and Drew Gooden of the Milwaukee Bucks. Because they are over the cap, the Nets cannot participate in the blind auction that takes place after a player is put on waivers. They can sign a player if no other team bids on him, as they did with Blatche and Childress.

July 13 - Jason Kidd has court date in Southhampton court on his DWI charge. He is expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor DWI.

July 27 - European national teams gather for full practices and "friendly" games prior to start of FIBA Eurobasket. In some cases, the national teams will play up to nine "friendly" games prior to the start of Eurobasket.

August 1 - First guarantee in Kris Joseph contract comes due. If he is still under contract, he gets a $100,000 guarantee. He gets a second guarantee of another $100,000 on October 29, roster cutdown day. His contract remains partially guaranteed through the first week of January when all contracts are guaranteed.

August 30 - September 11 - FIBA Tournament of the Americas in Caracas, Venezuela. Will Joseph play for Team Canada? He is on the preliminary roster. Because they won the Olympic gold medal, Team USA gets a bye this summer.

September 4 - 22 - FIBA Eurobasket, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Mirza Teletovic (Bosnia), Shengelia (Georgia), Bogdanovic (Croatia) and Euro-Stash Ilkan Karaman (Turkey) have all made commitments to their countries' national teams. Mike Fratello will coach Ukraine. Games will be televised online. NBA training camp begins a week after the tournament concludes. On September 5, Croatia will play Georgia ... Bojan vs. Toko.

September 21 - First NHL game at Barclays, an exhibition game between Islanders and Devils. Expect heavy Nets tie-ins.

October 1 - Training camp opens at PNY Center, with Coach Kidd in charge.