Nets' Joe Harris needs another ankle surgery, is out for season
Nets forward Joe Harris dribbles the ball against the Hornets during the first half at Barclays Center on Oct. 24. Credit: Noah K. Murray
Joe Harris is done for the season.
The Nets announced before Thursday night’s game against the Heat that their sharpshooting guard will undergo another ankle surgery and will not return to the court until 2022-23.
"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 has been determined that he will require an additional arthroscopic surgery in the coming weeks," general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. "While it is expected he will make a full recovery following the procedure, it will unfortunately result in him missing the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
"We know how deeply disappointed Joe is to miss this stretch run, but he remains a huge part of who we are as an organization, and while he won’t be able to contribute on the court, his presence and positivity around the team will continue to be felt by all."
Harris, who led the league in three-point shooting last season, hasn’t played since spraining his left ankle in a 120-96 win over Oklahoma City on Nov. 14. Harris had surgery on the ankle on Nov. 29 and was expected to be out four to eight weeks. In January, coach Steve Nash said he had had some "flare-ups," and his rehab was pushed back further.
The Harris news came on the same night that Kevin Durant played his first game in a month and a half because of a sprained MCL in his left knee.
Simmons not close
Ben Simmons will not take the court against James Harden and his former team in Philadelphia next Thursday, and it could be weeks before he plays his first game as a Net.
In an interview with the YES Network on Thursday, Marks revealed that Simmons is still working out individually and likely won’t be working with the team until the end of next week.
"Unfortunately, his back stiffness has delayed his ability to get on the court with his teammates," Marks told Michael Grady of YES. "So he’s been rehabbing these last sort of week to 10 days. Now he’ll progress throughout this week with some individual workouts. Hopefully by the end of next week, he’s getting more into the team environment and then we can really ramp up and start him getting into game shape and so forth.
"Although there’s no real timetable, we have to take it day-by-day and see how he responds, and hopefully the sooner the better. We need, again, to get this group together and get minutes together on the court."
Thursday marked the three-week anniversary of the blockbuster trade that brought Simmons, Andre Drummond and Seth Curry to the Nets for Harden.
Harden is averaging 27.3 points in the three games he has played for the 76ers. Simmons has yet to take the court for the Nets.
Simmons also didn’t play for the 76ers this season. After feuding with coach Doc Rivers and a few of his teammates, he took some time away for his mental health and now is struggling with a back issue.
Nash has said he likes to have players put in three high-intensity workouts — a practice in which they go full court — before they play in a game. That kind of ramp-up would give Simmons less than a month of regular-season play with his team.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
