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The Nets are once again in the midst of a roster overhaul. On Wednesday, the Nets traded for Dwight Howard, giving up Timofey Mozgov, two second rounders — one a second rounder from Thursday’s Draft and an undisclosed amount of cash. The deal can’t be completed until after the free agent moratorium ends on July 6.
Look for more movement on Thursday night. The Nets still have the 29th and 40th pick, having sent the 45th pick and another second in 2021 to Charlotte. And yes, they’re still trying to move up, although the Howard trade will limit their options.
Hang in there.
June 21 - NBA Draft. The Nets have the Raptors pick in the first round and the Lakers going into the night. That means the Nets currently hold the 29th (Raptors) and 40th (Lakers) picks. The Nets secured both picks in the DeMarre Carroll-for-Justin Hamilton deal with Toronto last July.
The Cavaliers have their Nets own first rounder, which is eighth and the 76ers hold their second rounder, now 38th, acquired in a 2014 salary dump that sent Andrei Kirilenko and Jorge Gutierrez down the Turnpike.
For the eighth straight year, the Nets are hosting the Draft, the last six at Barclays Center and the two before that at Prudential Center in Newark.
June 22 - Sometimes called the “third round” of the Draft. Immediately after the 60th pick, teams start calling agents for the top players who went undrafted, offering summer league invitations, perhaps even a two-way contract. In 2016, the Nets got Yogi Ferrell of Indiana to agree to a free agent deal the day after the draft. In 2017, it was Jake Wiley of Eastern Washington, Jeremy Senglin of Weber State and Milton Doyle of Loyola Chicago. Wiley got a two-way deal. Doyle got one eventually.
June 25 - 2018 NBA Awards are announced. Don’t expect any Nets to win, but the votes for each award will be released as well. How did Spencer Dinwiddie do in Most Improved, Jarrett Allen in Rookie of the Year?
June 28 - Expect the Nets to hold a press availability to introduce their Draft pick(s).
June 28-July 1 - FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Americas. Juan Pablo Vaulet, the Nets 6’7” stash from the 2015 Draft, plays for Argentina in the final round of qualifiers for the World Cup 2019. Argentina will play Panama and Uruguay.
June 29-July 2 - FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Europe. Aleksandar Vezenkov, the Nets 6’9” stash from the 2017 Draft, plays for Bulgaria in final round of qualifiers for World Cup 2019. Bulgaria must beat the Czech Republic and Iceland to qualify.
June 29 - Nets can tender Nik Stauskas a $5.1 million qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent. According to some reports, with the Howard trade, the Nets signaled they won’t be tendering an offer. They’ll need the cap sparce. Otherwise, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Nets can re-sign him if they wish.
June 29 - Deadline for the Nets to decide if they want to field a team for the NBA 2K franchises for the 2019 season. Of the NBA’s 30 teams, 17 have signed up for the NBA’s esports league. The first 17 teams paid $750,000 and committed to three years.
June 30 - Nets can exercise their team option on Isaiah Whitehead ’s $1.5 million non-guaranteed salary for 2018-19. Because of a quirk in the CBA, the Nets would only save $700,000 in cap space if they didn’t exercise their option. So expect Whitehead back. IF, on the other hand, the Nets waive him, it would suggest the Nets are clearing as much cap space as they can for a big free agency move.
Also this is the final day for the Nets to spend their $5.1 million in cash considerations. Most of it is normally used on Draft Day deals. Each season, the NBA permits its teams to use up to $5.1 million to sweeten deals or buy picks. Because the Howard trade won’t be official until after July 1, that cash will come out of the 2018-19 allotment, meaning Nets should still have all $5.1 million for 2017-18 to spend Thursday.
July 1 - Jahlil Okafor, Dante Cunningham, Quincy Acy, Joe Harris and (presumably) Nik Stauskas become unrestricted free agents. Free Agency opens around the league with a five-day moratorium that permits negotiations but no signings.
July 2 - Expect Nets to disclose their summer league roster.
July 6 - Free Agency Moratorium ends. Players can now put pen to paper starting on July 6. That’s also the first day the Howard trade can be finalized. Expect a press availability for Howard —and any other free agents signed by the Nets— in the following days.
July 6-17 - 2018 NBA Summer League (Las Vegas) All 30 teams in one league for the first time. Expect a number of the young Nets to play. Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Juan Pablo Vaulet have all told reporters they anticipate playing. Expect a contingent of Nets players in the stands cheering on the kids.
July 13 - Should the Nets tender Stauskas a qualifying offer, they can withdraw it at any time up to this date.
July 28 - August 6 - Jeremy Lin’s second “sharing tour” to Asia will take him —as well as Spencer Dinwiddie — to China, specifically Guangzhou in southern China. Lin normally has one long tour of Asia, but his trainers advised him to do two tours to save wear-and-tear on his body.
August 31 — Last day teams may waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2018/19 salaries.
September 7 - Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Enshrinement Ceremony. Jason Kidd and Rod Thorn will be in Springfield, Mass, at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.