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The Brooklyn Nets season is now officially over. At this point, fan attention will be consumed by the Nets plans to rebuild, retool, whatever you want to call it.
As Yossi Gozlan of Hoopshype writes Sunday, re-tooling makes sense, rebuilding, that is a tear-down, does not.
Brooklyn still owes Houston two unprotected first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, as well as two first-round pick swaps in 2025 and 2027. This rules out bottoming out at least for the next three seasons since it wouldn’t reward them. The Nets are more incentivized to build the best team possible and continue competing at a high level. They already have a great supporting cast, they just need the star power.
So here ya go, starting with what we’ll miss...
—May 1-2 - NBA Conference Semifinals begin (possible move-up to April 29-30)
—Early May - Per Brian Lewis, Nets and Ben Simmons will determine whether their highest salaried player will need to undergo at second back surgery. Lewis reported a second surgery is unlikely.
—May 16-17 - NBA Conference Finals begin (possible move-up to May 14-15)
—May 16 - The Victor Wembanyama Sweepstakes, aka the Draft Lottery. Nets won’t have a dog in this fight. Still, expect the affair to be the most watched NBA Lottery ever.
—May 19 - New York Liberty open their 2023 season vs. Washington Mystics in the District. Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot, Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney is the WNBA’s first super team.
—May 21 - New York Liberty open at home vs. Indiana Fever. Can Liberty get back to the attendance levels set a decade ago?
—June 1 - NBA Finals 2023 Game 1
—June 18- NBA Finals 2023 Game 7 (if necessary). No parades this time.
—June 22 - NBA Draft. Nets currently have the 21st (the Suns,) 22nd (their own) and 52th (their own) picks. The 21st pick gets a guaranteed $3.0 million starting salary, the 22nd $2.9 million. All second round picks are free to negotiate their deals.
—June 29 - Qualifying offer deadline for David Duke Jr. and Dru Smith.
—June 29 - Free agency begins with teams permitted to talk with free agents. Seth Curry, Yuta Watanabe and Cameron Johnson become free agents, the first two unrestricted, Johnson is restricted, meaning the Nets can match any offers he may receive. He reportedly turned down a four-year, $72 million extension from the Suns last summer.
—July 5 - NBA teams can officially sign free agents and a number of trades engineered become official. Nets must decide on 2023-24 team option for Edmond Sumner at vets minimum.
—July 7 - NBA owners must pay luxury tax to the league. Before the trade deadline, the Nets tax bill looked like it would be $108.2 million. After the moves leading up the deadline then just before the regular season ended, it’s now roughly $10 million. If the Nets stay above the tax threshold, they will be in the dreaded repeater tax next season. One saving grace: the luxury tax threshold will jump this season.
—July 7- 17 - NBA Summer League. Too early to think about the Nets roster, but it’s a good bet that whoever the Nets draft will be in Las Vegas. Others likely to play include RaiQuan Gray who is already signed to a two-way deal next summer.
—July 10 - Deadline for Nets to decide on Royce O’Neale team option. O’Neale is guaranteed $2.5 million out of a possible $9.5 million.
—July 27 - September 10 - FIBA World Cup in Southeast Asia. There could be a number of Nets and others with Nets ties performing. At the very least, Patty Mills will anchor an Australian national team. Ben Simmons is unlikely to suit up for the Boomers. Yuta Watanabe is likely for Japan. Nets stash Nikola Milutinov will play for Serbia.
—August 7 - Spencer Dinwiddie eligible for an extension of up to four years and $128 million. That’s unlikely.
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