Brooklyn Nets dealt with another hurdle; the loss of Joe Harris for the remainder of the season.
One recurring theme for the Brooklyn Nets this season is having to fight through adversity in a variety of unique situations. The team traded James Harden, had an 11-game losing streak, have only had Kyrie Irving for away games, and Kevin Durant was out for about a month and a half.
Adding to all that, it was announced that Joe Harris is going to be out for the remainder of the season due to the need for a second ankle surgery.
Joe Harris will need season-ending ankle surgery, Nets GM Sean Marks announced. pic.twitter.com/nbYsWkFwmD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 4, 2022
In his sixth season with the Nets, Harris has only played 14 games for the team this year. The last game he appeared in was on November 14th, 2021. I think it’s safe to say that this is not how Harris or the Nets wanted his season to go. No professional athlete wants to sit on the sidelines and not be a part of their team or sport, but sadly injuries are uncontrollable sometimes.
Earlier in the season on November 29, Harris has surgery on his ankle and was only expected to miss four to eight weeks. Unfortunately, his ankle did not heal properly and he is going to be having “arthroscopic ankle surgery” in the coming weeks.
Two ankle surgeries in one season is not ideal at all, but Harris should make a full recovery. The procedure will leave him out 4-to-6 months and he is expected to be 100 percent for the start of next season. Nets GM Sean Marks had this to say about Harris being out for the remainder of the season:
"“Unfortunately it has been determined here in the last 24 hours that he’s going to have to have season-ending surgery, which will follow up in the next week or two. But we feel terrible for Joe and we all know how much he means to this group.”"
Harris being out is the reason why the Nets have brought in other offensive weapons like Seth Curry and Goran Dragic. I’m sure the Nets would love to have a 30-year-old Joe Harris over an almost 36-year-old Goran Dragic. Not everything is going to go perfectly and the Nets are well aware of that this season.
Another glaring issue the Nets have dealt with the past two seasons is the inability to have their Big 3 on the court at the same time. Last year the combination of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden only played 16 games together.
At the NBA Trade Deadline, Harden was traded for Ben Simmons.
The Nets’ new Big 3 of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Ben Simmons still hasn’t played together either. Kyrie is still only available for away games, Durant just made his return last night after his injury, and Simmons is still trying to make his way back into basketball shape.
There’s a lot of potential in the Nets’ new Big 3, but it all has to translate on the court and be effective before anyone can truly judge this team.