Dennis Schroder is gone and in his place are Reece Beekman and three second rounders. Expect more trades soon.
With Sunday’s exchange of Dennis Schroder and the Heat’s protected second rounder in this year’s draft to Golden State for the injured De’Anthony Melton, Reece Beekman and three seconds in 2026, 2028 and 2029, the NBA trade season is finally if unofficially underway. Few teams have as many trade rumors circulating around their training center as Brooklyn has at 168 39th Street in Industry and those rumors are likely to spread right up to the trade deadline at 3:00 p.m. ET on February 6. The dates of those deals we can’t predict, but there’s enough else out there to keep fans alert and busy on the boards.
—December 17: Emirates NBA Cup Championship (Las Vegas, NV). Milwaukee Bucks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder for the cup and $514,000 for each roster player on winning team.
—December 19-22: NBA G League Winter Showcase (Orlando, FL) where NBA GMs show up to scout players from all 31 G League teams and talk among themselves. It’s the last league wide event before trade deadline. Also NBA free agents like Dennis Smith Jr, and Frank Kaminsky go there looking for work. Long Island gets first shot because of its 2-11 record Nets will play a minimum of two games, December 20 vs. the San Diego Clippers and December 22 vs. the Portland Remix.
—December 27: G-League team records will reset before the 34-game regular season, This is good for the Long Island Nets who finished the 16-game Tip-Off Tournament with that 2-11 record,
—January 5: 10-day contracts may now be signed as long as teams have roster spot.
—January 10: Jalen Wilson and Keon Johnson’s partially guaranteed deals become fully guaranteed. Actually, if Nets want to dump either — highly unlikely — they’ll have to waive them on January 7 so they’re off the roster by January 10.
—January 21 – WNBA free agency opens. The Liberty’s Jonathan Kolb has proven to be an aggressive GM.
—February 1 – WNBA free agents can sign.
—January 24-27 – Long Island Nets —as “Les Nets” — travel to suburban Montreal for first two of six “home games” the organization is playing in Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. It’s a way for the Nets to open a new fan base in French-speaking Canada.
—January 25 – Brooklyn Nets retire Vince Carter’s No. 15 at Barclays Center vs. Miami Heat. Game time: 6:00 p.m. ET.
—February 5 – 6: “Les Nets” second two-game visit to Montreal.
—February 5: Two-day window opens for De’Anthony Melton contract to be traded. Under new CBA, players in his situation can only be traded the day of the trade deadline or the day before. Hard to imagine the Nets taking on any new deal, but trade ballast has many uses.
—February 6: NBA Trade Deadline (3:00 p.m. ET)
—February 14-19: NBA All-Star Break.
—February 16: All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco.
—March 1: Playoff Eligibility Waiver Deadline. Players seeking eligibility for playoffs must be waived by this date. Big day for buyouts.
—March 13 – 14: Third two-game visit of Long Island’s “Les Nets” to suburban Montreal.
—April 1: G League Playoffs begins.
—April 13: NBA Regular Season ends. All 30 teams to play. Seven Eastern Conference games to tip-ff at 1 p.m. ET. The one cross-conference and seven Western Conference games to tip-off at 3:30 p.m. ET. Nets close out season vs. Knicks at Barclays Center.
—April 14 – WNBA Draft.
—April 15-18: NBA Play-In Tournament.
—April 19: NBA Playoffs begin
—April 29: WNBA Training Camp Begins
—May 17: New York Liberty open defense of their WNBA title. Banner raising at Barclays Center
—May TBA: NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago. Where will the Nets pick? Nothing official on date.
—June 5: NBA Finals 2025 presented by YouTube TV begin. All games will be televised on ABC
—June TBA: NBA Draft. Who will the Nets pick? Nothing official on date.
—June 29: Jalen Wilson and Keon Johnson team option for 2025-26.
—June 30: Dorian Finney-Smith player option for 2025-26.
—June 30: Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams restricted free agency begins.
—July 17–21: WNBA All-Star Break
—July 19: WNBA All-Star Game
—September 28: Rough start for training camp and Media Day. Teams that play preseason games overseas start earlier than other teams.
—October 10: First of two NBA China Games vs. Phoenix Suns at the 14,000 capacity Venetian in Macao.
—October 12: Second of two NBA China Games. Same opponent, same venue
There are other decisions that have less firm dates, like whether Jordi Fernandez will continue to coach Team Canada, starting with this summer. Fernandez has said he’s unsure, but at some point, he will have to tell Canadian Basketball of his plans. One point in his decision-making process is whether he wants to devote his summer to FIBA. In addition to his role as head coach with Team Canada, Fernandez has been an assistant for the Spanish and Nigerian teams in international play.