The Brooklyn Nets have put a lot of pieces in place to try and fulfill expectations that they can compete for an NBA title this season. However, one of the pieces they were hoping to get back is now officially out for the rest of the year.
Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters on Thursday that Joe Harris is out for the season so that he can get another surgery on his injured ankle.
Breaking: Joe Harris out for the remainder of the season pic.twitter.com/1nsAPeWZcy
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 4, 2022
“Unfortunately it’s been determined in the last 24 hours that he’s going to have to have season-ending surgery,” said Marks.
Statement from Nets General Manager Sean Marks on Joe Harris: pic.twitter.com/ArpcnCae0e
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 4, 2022
Harris suffered an ankle injury back on Nov. 14 and had surgery to fix it on Nov. 29. At the time, the Nets said they hoped to have the three-point specialist back in four-to-eight weeks. However, when that timeline came and went, many wondered what kind of setback might be keeping the 30-year-old off the court. In early February, Harris’s agent told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that he might need a second surgery on the ankle.
Sure enough, that appears to be the case.
The Nets have struggled from three without Harris and were desperate to get him back on the court as Kevin Durant returns and Ben Simmons presumably prepares to join the team. Seth Curry’s inclusion in the trade that brought Simmons from Philly to Brooklyn is going to loom large from here on out.
Joe Harris will have season-ending ankle surgery, Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks said in an interview with YES Network. “He is what defines a Brooklyn Net,” Marks said. The Nets acquired Seth Curry in the James Harden trade partly as insurance if Harris couldn’t return this season.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) March 4, 2022
Brooklyn will have to continue to adjust accordingly without Harris and hope that the many injuries that have derailed their season won’t be the reason they fall short in the playoffs again.
There were plenty of strong reactions to the news of Harris’s situation on social media.
So Joe Harris had surgery on Nov. 29, had a second opinion on Jan. 26, and now on March 3 decides to undergo a second season-ending ankle surgery. Wow.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) March 4, 2022
Seth Curry’s value on the Nets just skyrocketed with the Joe Harris news.
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) March 4, 2022
Brooklyn will recoup a projected $4.5M in insurance money as a result of the Harris injury. https://t.co/2kenIeWBIR
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) March 4, 2022
Was ultimately inevitable, sadly https://t.co/77M6FS9XGl
— Shlomo Sprung (@SprungOnSports) March 4, 2022
Oh wow… saison terminée pour Joe Harris. https://t.co/9gaUumWOrA
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) March 4, 2022
