The rumors have already begun.
Ian Begley on his podcast Thursday said the Nets had touched base with the Atlanta Hawks about John Collins whose stats and value have dropped like a stone but he’s still only 25 and fills a need. Any deal involving Collins would almost certainly involve Joe Harris going the other way. And draft picks would need to be included, possibly for both sides. Collins is owed $102 million for the next four years, with a player option in the final year. Harris is owed nearly $39 million over the next two.
It’s possible but unlikely that a big trade gets done before December 15, the date when around 150 players, those who signed or re-signed in the off-season, can be traded under league rules. Complicated deals normally need as many pieces as possible. Simple trades can happen at any time, of course, but teams usually like to reach the quarter-pole — 20 or so games in — before they start rethinking their needs. And it’s always possible that a deal has been agreed to in principle and teams are just waiting till December 15 before popping the news.
All that said, here’s our calendar on the Nets decision-making deadlines — as well as other interesting dates — going forward…
—December 2 – T.J. Warren cleared for action after being off the court with a leg injury for nearly two years.
—December 4 – Nets host Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics. Blake Griffin returns to Brooklyn.
—December 10 – Markieff Morris, who got a $500,000 guarantee on signing in September, will get another million guaranteed. Will they retain him?
—December 15 – Deadline for NBA owners and players to decide whether to immediately open CBA negotiations or wait a year. Either side can opt in.
—December 15 – First day that T.J. Warren, Edmond Sumner, Patty Mills, Kessler Edwards, Markieff Morris and Yuta Watanabe (all signed in off-season) and Royce O’Neale (trade) can be traded. The unofficial start of trade season.
—December 21 – Nets host NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
—January 5 – Teams can sign 10-day deals assuming they have roster space. Such deals can be extended for a second 10 days.
—January 10 – All partial and non-guaranteed contracts are extended for full season unless player is waived. For Nets, that applies to Markieff Morris, Edmond Sumner, both partially guaranteed, and Yuta Watanabe who is non-guaranteed.
—January 10 – The Nets taxpayers MLE becomes pro-rated. Prior to this date, the Nets can sign a player to the full $6.5 million. The amount drops an equal amount every day through June 30 when the TMLE expires. And yes, the exception can be broken up into pieces.
—January 15 – First day Nic Claxton can be traded. It’s later than other off-season signings because he re-signed with the Nets, his previous team, in the offseason and got a raise of at least 20 percent.
—January 20 – NBA Two-Way contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season. That will effect David Duke Jr. and Alondes Williams. Two-ways make $502,000 for the season, half the minimum salary for rookies.
—January 30 – Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James play Nets at Barclays Center. If both are healthy, it will be the first match-up between James and Kevin Durant since Christmas 2018 when James was in Cleveland and Durant in Golden State.
—February 9 – NBA trade deadline, 3:00 p.m. ET. End of trade season.
—February 10 – The $2.5 million Traded Player Exception generated by the James Harden trade expires. The TPE had been $11.3 million but Nets used most of it in trade for Royce O’Neale.
—February 10 – The Nets $1.7 million Traded Player Exception generated by the Paul Millsap element of the 76ers trade expires.
—February 11 – James Harden returns to Barclays Center with 76ers.
—February 13 – First Nets-Knicks game at Madison Square Garden,
—February 17-19 – NBA All-Star Weekend 2023 (Salt Lake City, UT). Games resume February 22.
—March 1 – Playoff Eligibility Waiver Deadline, aka the buyout deadline. Players waived or bought out after this date cannot play in post-season with a different team. The TMLE could come in handy here even if diminished. Nets could offer players more than a vets minimum for the rest of the season. TMLE deals can be as long as three years.
—March 19 – Bruce Brown returns to Brooklyn with Denver Nuggets.
—March 25 – Long Island Nets conclude G League season at Rio Grande Valley.
—April 4 – Michael Grady returns to Brooklyn with Minnesota Timberwolves.
—April 9 – Regular season ends with 76ers facing Nets at Barclays Center
—April 11-14 – NBA Play-In Tournament
—April 15 – Start of NBA Playoffs