Deadlines and Commitments - No. 100

It’s time for FIBA ... and other overseas commitments. Jeremy Lin, of course, is still in China and at least two Nets were sunning themselves in the Caribbean this week: Isaiah Whitehead in the Turks & Caicos and D’Angelo Russell in the Bahamas.

But two other Nets were getting ready for competitive games. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is in South Africa, where he’ll play in the NBA Africa game on Saturday, and Timofey Mozgov is in Russia getting ready for FIBA Europe.

And on Wednesday afternoon, if you want a first look at Aleks Vezenkov, the 6’9” small forward the Nets drafted at No. 57, we have a link below. Game action at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers starts at 1:30 ET. His Bulgarian team faces off against host Portugal.

August 2 to August 16 - FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers in Portugal. Nets’ stash Aleksandar Vezenko plays for Bulgaria. Vezenkov’s game should be live at 1:30 p.m. ET on the FIBA World Cup video site. The 6’9” swingman, the Nets second round stash, played in six “friendlies,” Eurospeak for exhibition games. He averaged 19.2 points and seven rebounds but sprained his right ankle in the last “friendly” on Friday. He promised to play with “clenched teeth,” according to Bulgaria basketball.

August 5 - Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will play for Team World in the second annual NBA Africa exhibition in Johannesburg. RHJ was named to the team last week. It will air on ESPN2 starting at 11 a.m. ET.

Early August - NBA regular season schedule is expected to be released sometime in first 10 days of August. This year’s season will be longer with fewer back-to-backs, more built-in rest. So maybe the schedule will be out earlier? What to look for? D’Angelo Russell’s return to Los Angeles, Brook Lopez’s return to Brooklyn. DeMarre Carroll’s return to Toronto Order popcorn now.

Other dates of interest: first time they play Miami whose fans (and execs) are still steamed about Nets decision to rest their top three scorers on the last game of last season. Also, first visit to Barclays by the Wizards and Otto Porter. Will Deron Williams ever return to Brooklyn? He hasn’t yet.

August 23 - G-League expansion draft. Long Island Nets can protect up to nine players rights in this year’s draft. With four new teams, current teams likely to lose at least two players.

August 25 to September 3 — FIBA Americas Cup in Argentina. Argentina’s Juan Pablo Vaulet isn’t yet practicing with the national team. He had ankle surgery. Still, he’s been named to Argentina’s preliminary roster and is currently working out but not practicing with the rest of the squad. The competition is in Cordoba, Argentina, JPV’s hometown.

August 31 to September 17 — Eurobasket 2017 in Turkey. As of now, only two players on the roster are eligible: Yakuba “Billy” Ouatarra, the Ghanian-French shooting guard the Nets signed to a two-way deal, is on the preliminary roster for France and Timofey Mozgov, who is on the Russian roster. Also, it will be Nets assistant coach Chris Fleming’s last turn as Germany’s national team coach.

August 31 — Last day teams may waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2017/18 salaries. Unlikely for any of the Nets players, but maybe there’s a free agent out there the Nets would be interested in.

September 5 - Nets must renew their offers to any stashed players. As of now, that means Vaulet and Vezenkov, taken last Thursday night at No. 57. Not an issue.

October 3 - Nets open preseason at MSG vs. the Knicks. All preseason games start at 7:30.

October 5 - Nets return to Barclays Center for the first time since April, playing the Heat in Brooklyn.

October 8 - The Knicks come to Brooklyn for the first time in 2017-18. The two teams play six times between preseason and regular season.

October 11 - The Nets and 76ers travel to Nassau Coliseum for the Nets final preseason game. The renovated Coliseum, owned by Mikhail Prokhorov's Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, will home to the Long Island Nets.

October 31 - Spencer Dinwiddie’s salary guarantees at $250,000 for 2017-18.

October 31 - Nets must exercise rookie options for Rondae-Hollis Jefferson and Caris LeVert, fourth year for RHJ, third year for CLV. Not an issue.

Late October - D-League Draft. It’s not like the NBA Draft. It has different rules and is held via conference call.

Early November - Long Island Nets will open their first season at their new home, the renovated Nassau Coliseum. They play one preseason game at Nassau vs. the Westchester Knicks.

First week of December - Nets will play the Spurs and Thunder in Mexico City as part of NBA Global Games.

December 10 -- Nets can acquire Donatas Motiejunas, one year after the Rockets matched their offer on the big man. Doubt that happens.

January 10 - All partially and non- guaranteed deals become fully guaranteed, specifically in the Nets case for Dinwiddie if he remains with the team.