Nets say Joe Harris is having ankle surgery

Joe Harris will be out after undergoing ankle surgery

Here’s the bad news: Joe Harris is undergoing ankle surgery on Tuesday afternoon. The good news: The Brooklyn Nets only expect the sharpshooter to be out four to eight weeks. The surgery is going to address a particle floating in Harris’ ankle.

Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris is expected to miss four to eight weeks with ankle surgery, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Surgery is addressing "a little bone particle" in ankle, Steve Nash said.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 29, 2021

Anytime surgery is mentioned, we tend to think of the worst-case scenario. Sure, losing a three-point shooter like Harris for any period of time is bad, but this could be much worse.

A four-to-eight-week timeline would position Harris to return sometime between late December and late January. All in all, it could be worse.

Harris, 30, left with an ankle sprain in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 14. He was averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting 46.6% from three when he went down with the ankle injury.

On the bright side for the Nets, they actually have a guy who is shooting it better from three than Harris. Patty Mills currently leads the NBA in three-point percentage (50%). The Aussie gives Brooklyn another guy who can use his gravity as a shooter to open up space inside.

The Nets are going to have to move forward without two guys who were expected starters coming into the year. If surgery and rehab go well, Harris should be back in the fold soon.

However, as for Kyrie Irving, it’s a complete mystery when and if he will return to the Nets this year.

Brooklyn is gearing up for a crosstown matchup with the Knicks on Tuesday night (7:40 p.m. ET).