Life comes at you fast this time of year, particularly if you have a team or player option. In the next few days, the Nets will have to make some decisions ... and some announcements. They must decide whether to keep Jarrett Jack, make qualifying offers to Markel Brown and Willie Reed and wait to see whether Wayne Ellington wants back.
It all starts Tuesday afternoon with the Coney Island press conference for Isaiah Whitehead, taken in last week's Draft. Don't be surprised if word leaks out on some of those decisions during those proceedings. And a footnote. T The $1,357,080 trade exception from the Mason Plumlee trade expired Monday. With all that cap space being added at the end of this week, it was kind of meaningless anyway.
June 28 -- The Nets introduce Coney Island's Isaiah Whitehead to the media. The Seton Hall product was taken No. 42 by the Jazz and traded for the 55th pick, Marcus Paige, and apparently a lot of money.
June 29 -- Two Nets with player options for 2016-17 must officially decide on whether to exercise them: Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington are owed a total of $3,067,000. Larkin has reportedly opted out. No word yet on Ellington, who has been seen working out at HSS Training Center.
June 29 -- Nets are expected to announce their coaching staff, which is likely to include six assistants as well as an assistant to the head coach. With the report Monday that Mike Batiste, the Greek legend, will join the team as big man coach, all but one has been reported.
June 30 -- Nets must decide whether to exercise a $6.3 million team option on Jarrett Jack or pay Jack a $500,000 guarantee. Jack's coming off a devastating knee injury. A week ago, it looked like the Nets were going to waive the soon-to-be 33-year-old. Now, it looks like they might keep him.
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 $55 million to play with, the fourth most in the NBA, unless they keep Jack (a net of $5.8 million) and Ellington opts in ($1.5 million). 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 1 -- Sometime this week, the Nets and Pacers will finalize the Thaddeus Young -for- Caris Levert trade. The two teams had to wait till the new salary cap was in place. It also means the Nets will be able to talk about their plans for him ... and when he may return to the court. Expect him to be ready for training camp.
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 7 - Moratorium on signings ends. Teams can officially sign free agents. This is also the date when the official salary cap and luxury tax figures are released following a league audit of basketball-related income. The latest estimate is a salary cap of $94 million and salary floor --the minimum payroll-- of $86.9 million.
July 9 - 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. Last summer, the Nets participated in both Orlando and Las Vegas. Expect Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris McCullough, Sean Kilpatrick and Markel Brown (if signed) to play as well as Isaiah Whitehead. Caris LeVert will not play. D-Leaguers Josh Magette, who played for the L.A. Defenders, and J.J. O'Brian,who played for the Idaho Stampede last year, have accepted the Nets offer, as have at least three undrafted players: Yogi Ferrell of Indiana, Beau Beech of North Florida and Egidius Mockevicius of Evansville.
July 13 -- Trade exception of $2,170,465 from the Steve Blake trade to Detroit officially expires. Actually, with every team jumping in cap space, this TE had to be used by June 30. .
July 18 - Team Argentina plays Team Nigeria in an exhibition game in Las Vegas. Juan Pablo Vaulet, the Nets second round pick in the 2015 Draft, is part of the 20-man roster Argentina is taking to Vegas.
July 20 - Team Argentina plays Team Nigeria in an exhibition game in Las Vegas.
July 22 --Team Argentina plays Team USA in a nationally televised exhibition game in Las Vegas. The game will be shown on NBA TV
August 5 - 21 -- Rio Olympics. As of now, no Nets player is likely to play. Vaulet is trying out for the Argentine national team, but doesn't have much of a shot at making the club. Will Weaver, Kenny Atkinson's special assistant, is an assistant coach for Team Australia. He's currently the only Net staff likely to have a role in Rio. Juan Pablo Vaulet essentially opted out of Team Argentina last week week, saying he needed the rest.
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. New assistant coach Chris Fleming is head coach of German national team so expect him to be over there.
Early September - D-League expansion draft usually takes 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.
October 11 -- Nets travel to Miami to play the Heat in a preseason game, only one scheduled so far. It will be the farthest the Nets will travel for a preseason game in years. Normally, the team sticks to the Northeast.
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.