After suffering a sprained ankle against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 14, Joe Harris has been sidelined for the past six games. On Monday, Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash said Harris will undergo surgery on that ankle, though he will not miss the rest of the season.
Steve Nash said Joe Harris will have surgery this afternoon. It will be a scope on his ankle. Nash said Harris won’t miss the rest of the season.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) November 29, 2021
Nash called the surgery “a good thing” for Harris, so the sweet-shooting wing can avoid long-term issues with the injury and return at full health down the line and be a factor for the Nets in their pursuit of a title.
Steve Nash says Joe Harris’ surgery is “a good thing” to put it behind him for good, and that he is expected to return this season.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) November 29, 2021
Shortly after the initial news broke, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Harris is expected to miss four to eight weeks, according to Harris’ agent, Mark Bartelstein.
There's optimism that Harris can return to the Nets on the shorter end of that timeline.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 29, 2021
Harris’ absence is another blow for a Nets team already without All-Star Kyrie Irving for the foreseeable future. Nicolas Claxton has also suited up for just four games this season. Brooklyn will have to find a way to cobble together well-spaced lineups during the next month or two. It was already an issue affecting this team’s 12th-ranked offense and losing a premier off-ball shooter like Harris exacerbates the issue.
Through 14 games, Harris is averaging 11.3 points, four rebounds and one assist on 62.4 percent true shooting. He’s also knocking down 46.6 percent of his triples on more than six attempts a night.
