Deadlines and Commitments - Special Side Effects Edition

Kyrie Irving was back at HSS Training Center practicing Sunday but he’s still covered by New York City’s vaccination rules that ban him from playing (or visiting) Barclays Center ... and Madison Square Garden. And there’s NO change, nor NO indication of change in Irving’s position.

“I think we recognize he’s not playing home games,” said Nash after practice. “We’re going to have to for sure play without him this year. So it just depends on when, where and how much.”

Things can change, as Nash indicated, meaning that Irving could decide to end his vaccine holdout or the Nets could decide it’s time to visit other options. Down the road, of course, New York could further relax their rules as they did with HSS Training Center Friday but that seems far-fetched ... and far away. At the moment, the Nets seem prepared to help Irving work around the city’s regulations as well as tighter league restrictions that will apply to every game, every practice, every team dinner or meeting.

So with all that in mind, we’ve updated our Deadlines and Commitments with added emphasis on Irving’s availability issue.

—October 11 - Preseason game vs. 76ers in Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m. ET. Kyrie Irving will not travel down the NJ Turnpike to Philly. Ben Simmons wouldn’t be there to greet him either.

—October 14 - Last preseason game vs. Minnesota Timberwolves at Barclays Center, 7:30 p.m. ET. No Irving.

—October 18 - Cutdown day. Nets must get down to 17 roster spots, 15 standard NBA deals and two two-ways by the end of the business day. Expect things to be set before the deadline.

—October 19 - Regular season starts with Nets in Milwaukee for nationally televised rematch of Game 7 of NBA quarter-finals. Irving will be permitted to play.

—October 23 - G League Draft. It’s conducted via phone. Long Island currently has the 20th, 40th and 60th picks in the three-round affair.

—October 24 - Regular season home opener at Barclays Center vs. Charlotte Hornets, 7:30 p.m. ET. First regular season game that Irving would miss if he remains unvaxxed.

—October 25 - First “revenge” game of the season when the Wizards — and Spencer Dinwiddie — travel to Brooklyn for a 7:30 p.m. ET game.

—October 29 - “Swagger,” a new series inspired by Kevin Durant’s life, is set to globally debut on AppleTV+. The series will be comprised of 10 episodes, with the first three episodes debuting on October 29.

—November 6 - Long Island Nets open 2020-21 season vs. Delaware Blue Coats in Delaware. Expect roster to include Marcus Zegarowski and RaiQuan Gray, the Nets two second rounders, to be signed directly to Long Island. Kessler Edwards is already signed to a two-way.

—November 7 - Nets travel to Toronto for first time. Toronto just adopted the most stringent protocols — including quarantine — for unvaccinated players. The law establishing the protocols also carry criminal penalties.

—November 10 - Long Island opens at home — Nassau Coliseum — vs. Capital City Go-Go

—November 16 - Nets host Golden State Warriors including Steph Curry and Draymond Green, 7:30 p.m. ET

—November 30 - Nets and Knicks square off for the first time at Barclays, 7:30 p.m. ET. No Irving.

—December 6 - New York State is expected to award operating licenses for sports betting. Nets have aligned themselves with Fanatics Sports Book and others in one of the bids.

—December 8 - James Harden returns to Houston for the first time with a full house of fans in the stands. 8 p.m. ET

—December 15 - DeAndre’ Bembry contract guaranteed up to $1.25 million. He previously received a guarantee of $750,000 on signing in early August.

—December 15 - First day free agent contracts signed in August can be traded, the unofficial start of trade season.

—December 19 - Jeff Green returns to Brooklyn with Denver Nuggets for his “revenge game.” 7:30 p.m. ET.

—December 25 - Nets and Lakers square off in the marquee game of Christmas Day in L.A., 8:00 p.m. ET. Kevin Durant and LeBron James haven’t gone against each other since 2018-19. It’s the Nets only trip to L.A. this season. They play the Clippers on December 27. Like Toronto, Los Angeles has recently adopted new protocols which does include a “carve-out” for non-resident entertainers.

DeAndre Jordan “revenge game.”

—January 7 - Nets host the Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Bucks for the first time at Barclays Center. 7:30 p.m. ET

—January 10 - DeAndre’ Bembry contract fully guaranteed as are all non-guaranteed and partially guaranteed deal.

—January 25 - Nets host Lakers at Barclays. 7:30 p.m. ET — exactly one month after the two squads go head-to-head on Christmas Day.

—January 29 - Kevin Durant returns to Golden State for the first time with fans in the stands. 8:30 p.m. ET. Warriors have promised to retire his jersey. Will it take place this night?

—February 8 - Ime Udoka, former Nets assistant, brings his Boston Celtics to Barclays Center for first time. 7:30 p.m. ET

—February 10 - NBA trade deadline, 3:00 p.m. ET.

—February 13 - Super Bowl. Target date for opening of New York sports books.

—February 19 - Nets travel to Madison Square Garden to face Knicks. If he hasn’t been jabbed by now, New York protocols will prohibit him from playing at MSG.

—February 18-20 - NBA All-Star 2022 (Cleveland, OH)

—March 1 - Second trip to Toronto which like San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles has stringent rules for vaccinated NBA players

—April 6 - Nets vs. Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Again, if he hasn’t been vaccinated, Irving will not be permitted to play.

—April 10 - Regular season concludes vs. Pacers at Barclays Center.

—April 12-15 - NBA Play-In Tournament

—April 16 - NBA Playoffs begin. Unless New York rules have been relaxed or Irving relents, he will not permitted to play any home games (or games in the city).

—June 2 - NBA Finals begin. See above.

—June 19 - Game 7 of NBA Finals (if necessary)

—June 23 - NBA Draft

—July 7 - Traditional date by which NBA teams must pay the luxury tax.

—August 6 - The Nets $11.45 million Traded Player Exception generated by the Spencer Dinwiddie trade expires, one year after Dinwiddie trade.

—August 19 - The Nets $6.27 million Traded Player Exception generated by the DeAndre Jordan trade expires, one year after Jordan trade.