Deadlines and Commitments No. 56

It's Decision Time for the Nets, with Lionel Hollins and Billy King having to decide on a number of issues, big and small, over the next month. There will be big things like the rotation and any minutes restrictions for Brook Lopez (a decision that will be made in conjunction with the medical and training staffs) and some smaller ones.

There will also be contract decisions. Some are easy. On October 31, the Nets must decide whether to extend the rookie contracts of Mason Plumlee, Sergey Karasev and Marquis Teague. Plumlee and Karasev are no-brainers, Teague's less so. Also, on Cutdown Day, October 25, the Nets must decide on who to keep -- and in the case of at least Jerome Jordan, that's a money decision as well; if he makes the team, he gets $150,000.

But at least the pre-season is upon us.

September 26 -- The traditional date that NBA training camps open is October 1, but teams participating in the NBA Global Games, like the Nets, start a few days earlier. September 26 is Media Day, this year in East Rutherford. This should be the last Nets camp to be held at what used to be called the PNY Center and before that the Champion Center in East Rutherford. It's expected the Nets new facility in Industry City will be ready for the camp in 2015.

October 7 -- Preseason Opening Night: Nets vs Maccabi Tel Aviv, Barclays Center. 7:30 PM. It will be Israeli theme night at Barclays. Nets players will have their names written out in Hebrew on their warm-ups. Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and Maccabi will host a pre-game VIP reception at Barclays Center honoring soliders wounded in the recent Gaza operation

October 8 - Nets board charter for Shanghai, China.

October 12 -- Preseason: Nets vs Kings at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. 1:00 AM, NBA TV

October 15 -- Preseason: Nets vs Kings at the MasterCard Center in Beijing. 7:30 AM, NBA TV

October 19 -- Preseason: Nets vs. Boston Celtics, Barclays Center. 3:00 PM

October 20 -- Preseason: Nets vs. Philadephia 76ers, Barclays Center, 7:30 PM

October 22 - Preseason: Nets vs. Boston Celtics, TD Garden, Boston, 7:30 PM

October 25 - Cutdown day. Nets must decide on how to keep, which will effect partial guarantees for Jerome Jordan and Willie Reed. Jordan's partial guarantee if $100,000 if he makes the team.  Reed's guarantee, if any, is not yet known.

October 31 - Nets have to decide on extending Mason Plumlee and Sergey Karasev's rookie contracts into a third year and Marquis Teague's into a fourth year.