The future is close to being the present. The NBA holds its annual Draft Lottery at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, just before Game 4 of the New York Knicks – Boston Celtics EC semis. Mark Tatum will pull cards until there are only left. Then, the process will pause during a commercial break the final order. Ugh.
Beyond that, though, there will be a lot of other decisions before now and the Brooklyn Nets preseason trip to Macao, China. Not to mention the New York Liberty’s defense of their first WNBA championship which begins five days after the Lottery. A busy and likely historic summer.
—May 9: Liberty open two-game preseason vs. Connecticut Sun at Barclays Center. Breanna Stewart sill not play.
—May 9-11: G League Elite Camp. The league has invited 44 players, mostly collegians, to the G League combine which is taking place at the WinTrust Arena in Chicago.
—May 11-18: NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Another 78 players will be at WinTrust. More draft workouts, more scouts in Chicago for all the measurements and scrimmages … plus player interviews. And expect rumors upon rumors. With the full draft order set, expect teams to talk about trades.
—May 12: NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago. Where will the Nets pick? What happens if you drink champagne after taking Zanax? Who sits on the podium? With the sixth best odds, the Nets would have a 9.0% chance at Cooper Flagg and a 37.2% chance at a top four pick. But they also have a 29.7% at getting the seventh pick and 20.6% at picking at No. 8.
One other thing to watch other than where the Nets will pick. If the 76ers retain their first in the 2025 lottery — it’s protected 1-6 — the first rounder Philly owes the Nets moves from 2027, protected 1-8, to 2028.
The Nets are hosting a watch party at the Qatari Airways Club inside Barclays Center. Lots of cameras will be rolling.
—-May 12: Second Liberty preseason game at University of Oregon where Libs’ Sabrina Ionescu is being honored. Opponent is the Toyota Antelopes of Japan’s Women ‘s Basketball League.
—May 17: New York Liberty open defense of their WNBA title. Banner raising and ring ceremony at Barclays Center!
—May 31-June 2: Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. The NBA’s international draft combine. Expect some international players to rise. The final big camp for the 2025 Draft.
—June 5: NBA Finals 2025 begin. All games will be televised on ABC.
—June 15: NBA Draft Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline (5:00 p.m. ET.) College players may think twice about staying in the Draft. They could be forced to choose between guaranteed six or seven figure NIL money vs. possibly not be drafted at all or getting a two-way contract. That money won’t be guaranteed and could be less than the two-way.
—June 25-26: NBA Draft. Both rounds are at Barclays Center, the first on the night of June 25, the second the next night. Who will the Nets pick? At the moment, the Nets have four first rounders and a second rounder, most in the league. More than the February trade deadline, the days before the Draft are historically Sean Marks’ time. In eight of his nine years as GM, he’s made at least one move, some big, some small, within 48 hours of the draft. Last year, he made two with the Nets and Rockets that changed the direction of the franchise almost precisely 48 hours before Adam Silver stepped to the stage.
—June 29: Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin and Drew Timme have team options for 2025-26. Maxwell Lewis has a partial guarantee on an extension. Qualifying Offers must be extended to Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams as well for the Nets to retain their rights. Expect the Nets to not extend a qualifying offer to Williams. Because he was a high draft pick — No. 10 in 2021 — Williams qualifying offer is more than $8 million which would be added to the Nets cap. They can still sign him, of course.
—June 30: NBA teams may begin negotiating with free agents (beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET). Applies to re-signings as well. Nets will have an estimated $50 million to $70 million in cap space, more than any other team by a long shot. Brooklyn can tender offer sheets to restricted free agents. And other teams can do the same with the Nets RFAs.
—July 6: Free agent signings and Draft Day trades become official. Cam Johnson can be extended up to three years and $100+ million.
—July 7: Nets $23.3 million trade exception from Mikal Bridges trade expires.
—July 10-20: NBA Summer League in Las Vegas With all those draft picks plus a number of young players from this year’s team and camp invites, Brooklyn should be one of the most interesting squads.
—July 17–21: WNBA All-Star Break
—July 19: WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
—Early August TBA: NBA schedule for 2025-26 is released.
—September 28: Rough starting date for training camp and Media Day for those teams like the Nets who play overseas in preseason The Nets, of course, are playing in China.
—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