Here are some key dates in the Brooklyn Nets' 2016-17 schedule, which was released Thursday:
Oct. 26: The Nets open up against the Celtics in Boston. It will officially be Kenny Atkinson’s head-coaching debut and Jeremy Lin’s first game as a Net. Brooklyn will also get a chance to see Jaylen Brown, the No. 3 pick in the draft. The Nets owed that pick to the Celtics as part of the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade. Boston still has the rights to swap firsts with Brooklyn in 2017 and owns the Nets’ unprotected first in 2018.
Oct. 28: Two days later, Thaddeus Young makes his return to Brooklyn in the Nets’ home opener against the Pacers. Young was traded to Indiana in exchange for the rights to Caris LeVert, the No. 20 overall pick.
Nov. 9: Lin returns to Madison Square Garden as a member of the hated Nets. Remember, Linsanity began at the Garden against the Nets. It will be Brooklyn’s only game on ESPN.
Dec. 10: Brooklyn GM Sean Marks -- assuming he makes the trip with the team, anyway -- heads back to San Antonio, where his career as an NBA front-office member began. Several Nets staffers come from the Spurs tree. Plenty of time for reunions.
Dec. 22-23: Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson will be in town Dec. 22. And then the following night, the Nets get the defending champion Cavaliers in Cleveland. That’s a pretty cruel back-to-back by the NBA’s schedule makers.
Jan. 2: Joe Johnson returns to Barclays Center for the first time as a visitor with the Jazz.
Jan. 10: Atkinson’s first game against the team he used to serve as an assistant coach for, the Atlanta Hawks.
Feb. 24-March 10: Brooklyn’s annual circus road trip means the Nets will play eight straight games away from home over a 15-day period. The trip goes through Denver, Golden State, Sacramento, Utah, Portland, Memphis, Atlanta and Dallas.
March 19: Former Net Deron Williams didn’t play at Barclays Center last season. Perhaps this is the time the current Mavericks point guard finally does. Williams vs. Lin matchups sure have been fun in the past.
April 12: Brooklyn ends its regular season in Chicago.
