Deadlines and Commitments - No. 75

Special Sean Marks edition!

There are finite dates and deadlines on the calendar and that's what we have to deal with. No doubt the new GM has some deadlines of his own.  But alas, we can't define "wee while," the phrase Marks uses to describe how long the coaching search will take.

So here's what we know... including some D-League dates.

March 1 -- NBA's buyout deadline.  Players waived by this date, regardless of where they they sign before season's end, are playoff eligible. Last chance for teams and players to reach agreement on waivers so the player can sign with a playoff contender.

March 10 -- Nets $3.15 million Disabled Player Exception expires. It's unlikely to be used.

April 13 -- Last game of the regular season. Luxury --and repeater-- tax calculations are based on the team's payroll on this date. After the buyouts of Andrea Bargnani and Joe Johnson, the Nets are currently about $4.7 million under the threshold. If the Nets add a player, that number will be reduced.

April 13-16 -- Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth, VA. College seniors work out for NBA GMs and scouts. Second round prospects at best. Teams often fill out summer league rosters with players they see here.

April 15 -- NBA playoff roster deadline. Once waived, players have plenty of time to make a decision on where to go.

May 11-15 -- NBA Draft Combine 2016 in Chicago  The best prospects get measured, interviewed and worked out. Nets will be there. Hey, ya never know.

May 17 -- NBA Draft Lottery 2016.  Depending on where the Nets finish, and where the ping pong balls fall, this could be one of the more  painful dates in Nets history.

June 10-12 -- adidas EUROCAMP in Treviso, Italy. The European version of the NBA Pre-Draft Combine.  Nets usually send a contingent to Treviso, outside Venice, but expect this year to be more serious.

June 15 - Thomas Robinson must decide on his $1,050,961 million player option for 2016-17.

June 27 -- NBA Draft. No first rounder. Nets will have to swap second rounders with the Clippers unless LAC finishes with a top five record. As of now, the Nets will have to swap picks. The difference? As of now, 21 places, from 34 to 55. The Nets will also likely buy a pick or two, as they have every year but 2013 since Prokhorov bought the team. Those second rounders could be signed to a Long Island Nets contract with the Nets retaining the players' NBA rights.

June 27 -- Trade exception of $1,357,080 from the Mason Plumlee trade expires.

June 29 -- Two Nets with player options for 2016-17 must decide on whether to exercise them: Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington are owed a total of $3,067,000.

June 30 -- Nets must decide whether to exercise a $6.3 million team option on Jarrett Jack or pay Jack a $500,000 guarantee.  The decision will be easy, particularly after Jack's devastating knee injury.

June 30 -- Last day the Nets can make Markel Brown a restricted free agent by offering him $1,180,431 for 2016-17. Similarly, the Nets can make Willie Reed a restricted free agent by offering him $1,215,696.  Nets also control Reed's Early Bird Rights.

July 1 -- Free agency begins.  The Nets are expected to have around $41 million to play with, the seventh most in the NBA.  Teams can contact but not sign free agents.

July 4 - 9 -- Croatia (Bojan Bogdanovic) and Italy will face off in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Torino, Italy.  It will be difficult for either to advance to the Olympics. Competition is tough.

July 12 - Moratorium on signings ends. Teams can officially sign free agents. Nets can sign Juan Pablo Vaulet.if they want.

July 13 -- Trade exception of $2,170,465 from the Steve Blake trade expires.

August 5- 21 -- Rio Olympics.  As of now, only one Nets player is likely to play, as long as he's healthy. Juan Pablo Vaulet's Argentina team has qualified and he's likely to make the squad.

August 31 -- Stretch payment deadline. If the Nets wanted to stretch a player, they must do it by this date.

Early September - D-League expansion draft usually take place around now.  The three new clubs - The Long Island Nets, WIndy City Bulls and Greensboro Swarm -- will get a shot at grabbing players from a pool of unprotected players among the league's established teams.

September 10 -- If the Nets don't sign Juan Pablo Vaulet, they must extend him non-guarantee tender by this date or lose his rights and make him an unrestricted free agent. It's highly likely they will retain his rights.

Early November - D-League draft. This is a conference call affair, nothing like the big league's extravaganza.  The L.I. Nets will have picks.

Mid-November - Long Island Nets open their first season in Barclays Center.  Expect it to be a double-header with the Brooklyn Nets.