Joe Harris To Undergo Season-Ending Ankle Surgery

6:45pm: Harris will be out four-to-six months, agent Mark Bartelstein told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Harris is expected to be 100 percent for the start of next season.

6:11pm: Nets forward Joe Harris will undergo season-ending left ankle surgery, general manager Sean Marks said in a YES Network interview (Twitter link via Frank Isola).

The possibility of Harris requiring another ankle surgery was raised a month ago. The veteran sharpshooter hasn’t played since November 14 and underwent left ankle surgery later that month. The original prognosis was that Harris would miss approximately four-to-eight weeks.

It’s another negative development in a tumultuous Brooklyn season that has included Kyrie Irving‘s vaccination stance, Kevin Durant‘s knee injury and the James Harden–Ben Simmons trade. Durant returned to action on Thursday but it’s still up in the air when Simmons might suit up.

Harris sustained the injury against Oklahoma City. Heading into that game, the 30-year-old had been averaging 11.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG. Last season, Harris averaged 14.1 PPG, shooting 47.5% from 3-point range in 69 regular season games.

He re-signed with Brooklyn on a four-year, $75MM contract in November 2020. The Nets added Seth Curry in the deal with the Sixers and Bruce Brown has carved out a steady role but the loss of Harris still ranks as a major blow to the team’s championship aspirations.

Marks issued a statement which reads in part, “Although Joe worked diligently over the past several months to rehab his ankle and exhausted every possible avenue in order to get back on the court with his teammates, it was been determined that he will require an additional arthroscopic surgery in the coming weeks.”