Deadlines and Commitments: ‘Scary Hours’ edition

Scary Hours, James Harden’s perfect description of what happens when the Nets “Big Three” takes the court, have begun. Brooklyn seems to be hitting its stride but there are still roster questions ahead.

The Nets have one roster spot open and at least two and possibly three players on non-guaranteed deals that expire on February 24, one month ahead of the trade deadline. And they still have the taxpayers MLE and the Spencer Dinwiddie DPE. So look for Sean Marks to be active. (When is he not?)

Also, the Nets have some interesting prospects playing in the G League’s shortened season. The Nets have moved players from two-ways to standard deals and affiliate players to two-ways in the past. That trend could be slowed by NBA’s health and safety protocols but the Nets went out of their way to acquire Elie Okobo and B.J. Johnson, both of whom have NBA experience, as well as Paul Eboua, a 20-year-old PF they had their eyes on before the Draft.

No word yet on the WNBA Draft. The New York Liberty won the overall No. 1 pick in the lottery back in early December.

So here ya go ... our best summary of the events ahead.

—February 5 - Teams can begin negotiating with players who are extension-eligible Applies to Spencer Dinwiddie.

—February 6 - Players signed in off-season can be traded. Applies to Jeff Green. Tyler Johnson cannot be traded in 2020-21 season without his permission since he was re-signed to non-Bird contract. The unofficial beginning of the trade season.

—February 10 - G League games begin at “bubble.” A total of 18 teams —17 NBA team affiliates and Team Ignite, the G League Select Team— will participate. The schedule will be abbreviated, from the normal 50 down to 15. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.

—February 16 - All-Star voting concludes.

—February 18 - All-Star starters announced.

—February 23 - All-Star reserves announced.

—February 23 - 10-Day contracts may now be signed.

—February 24 - All non and partially guaranteed contracts become fully guaranteed. Applies to Timothe’ Luwawu-Cabarrot, Norvel Pelle and Iman Shumpert.

—March 3 - Players re-signed via Early or Full Bird rights can be traded.

—March 4 - End of first half of regular season.

—March 5-to 10 - Originally constituted as a “mid-season break.” Now with All-Star Game back, it’s a shortened “All-Star Break.”

—March 7 - NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta. Skills competitions included.

—March 7 - All two-way contracts guarantee for 2020-21. Last day for teams to make changes on two-way players.

—March 5-to-9 - G League playoffs underway in Orlando “bubble.” Single-elimination tournament.

—March 11 - Beginning of second half of regular season.

—March 13-to-15 - Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts, for Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

—March 25 - NBA trade deadline. Usually set for 3 p.m. ET.

—April 9 - NBA playoff eligibility deadline, aka the end of buyout season. Players waived on or before April 9 can still qualify for playoff rosters. After this date, no such luck.

—April 19 - Dinwiddie DPE expires.

—May 16 - Regular season ends

—May 17-to-21 - Play-in tournament for 7-to-10 seeds. The Nos. 7 and 8 seeds need to win win once to say in playoffs; Nos. 9 and 10 need to win twice to move up.

—May 22 - First-round playoffs begin.

—June 7 - Conference semifinals begin.

—June 22 - Conference Finals begin.

—July 8-to-22 - NBA Finals with latest date for conclusion July 22.

—July 23 - Parade in Brooklyn??

—July 31 - Deadline for Dinwiddie player option.