Deadlines and Commitments - No. 77

It's our special draft  -- aka pain management -- edition.  Lots of action with prospect workouts apparently starting in the next week and including the horror of the Draft Lottery on May 17.  We expect a lot of other, unscheduled news like hiring staff -- and of course Kenny Atkinson's introductory press conference, which is dependent on how far the Hawks go in the playoffs.

Here's what we know ... or think we know.  And with dates coming fast and furious, we will be updating this feature more frequently this summer.

Early May -- Draft prospects find their way to 168 39th Street in Brooklyn, the address of the HSS Training Center.  Even though the Nets have only one pick, No. 55, they will take a look at a number of players because Hey, ya never know. They are likely to buy a couple of picks in the second round and could trade into the first round. Also, those workout reports could come in handy when the D-League holds its draft in November.

May 8-10 -- D-League Elite Mini Camp in Chicago. Forty D-Leaguers will show off their talents to assembled NBA and D-League scouts and executives.  Expect the Nets to have a significant contingent on hand.

May 11-15 -- NBA Draft Combine 2016 in Chicago  The best prospects get measured, interviewed and worked out. Nets will be there.

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. Our guess: Celtics get overall No. 1 pick.  Call it King's Karma. We will.

May 20 -- Argentina basketball will announce its preliminary Olympic roster. Will Nets stash Juan Pablo Vaulet be on it?  He's among the best young talents in the country but it looks like country's Golden Generation -- Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni -- will make one last attempt to medal. Youth may not be served.

June 10-12 -- adidas EUROCAMP in Treviso, Italy. The European version of the NBA Pre-Draft Combine.  Nets always send a contingent to Treviso, outside Venice, for the event. Expect this year to be more serious after Sean Marks repeated comments about he hopes the Nets can make up for lost picks with a mix of overseas players and D-Leaguers.

June 13 -- NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5:00 p.m. ET). Stay in school, Isaiah.

June 15 -- Thomas Robinson must decide on his $1,050,961 million player option for 2016-17.  He is expected to opt out.

June 20 -- Bojan Bogdanovic and his Croatian national team play Canada in a "friendly" -- or exhibition-- game in Croatia.

June 23 -- Bojan Bogdanovic and his Croatian national team play the Czech Republic in a "friendly" -- or exhibition-- game in Croatia.

June 26 -- Bojan Bogdanovic and his Croatian national team play Canada again in  a"friendly" -- or exhibition-- game in Croatia.

June 27 -- NBA Draft at Barclays Center. No first rounder. Nets have to swap second rounders with the Clippers. The difference?  A lot, 21 places, from No. 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 should be easy, particularly after Jack's devastating knee injury.

June 30 -- Last day the Nets can make Markel Brown and Willie Reed restricted free agents. They must offer Brown $1,180,431 for 2016-17 and Reed $1,215,696. Brown is likely, Reed obviously is not.

July 1 -- Free agency begins.  The Nets are expected to have around $45 million to play with, the seventh most in the NBA.  Teams can contact but not yet sign free agents. However, rumors of signings start to leak out just after midnight. Biggest stars decide first.

July 4 - 9 -- Croatia (Bojan Bogdanovic) and Italy (Andrea Bargnani) 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 6 - Moratorium on signings ends. According to Woj, the NBA and NBPA have agreed to move the date for signings up from July 12. Teams can officially sign free agents. Nets can sign Juan Pablo Vaulet.if they want. This is also the date when the official salary cap and luxury tax figures are released following an audit

July 8 - 18 -- Las Vegas Summer League. Nets won't participate in Orlando Summer League this year, ending a decade-long run in the Magic-run league.  So it's the Las Vegas Summer League with 23 other teams. Last summer, the Nets participated in both Orlando and Las Vegas.

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

July 22 -- Team USA plays an exhibition game vs. Argentina at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. If Juan Pablo Vaulet makes the Argentine nation team, fans will get a first look at him.

August 5- 21 -- Rio Olympics.  As of now, no Nets player is likely to play. Juan Pablo Vaulet's Argentina team has qualified but it's uncertain that he will make the squad.

August 14 -- D-League National Tryouts at Basketball City in New York. Players from around the country gather to see if they can get a D-League contract.  Normally, about 30 of the 220 entrants find their way onto a D-League roster. Most recent tryout alumni to get an NBA contract:  Jonathon Simmons of the Spurs.  Registration is $350.

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

August 31 - September 17 -- FIBA Europe Qualifying Round will play out at various venues.  European national teams who didn't make the Olympics or the Olympic qualifying round must compete for places in the FIBA Eurobasket in 2017..   Only current Net who will likely play is Sergey Karasev for Team Russia.

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.

October 1 -- Training camps open with Media Day.

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.