It’s a welcomed bit of good news after a tumultuous offseason for the Brooklyn Nets. Joe Harris, who is coming off a year where an ankle injury cost him most of the season, is back to “100 percent” his agent told the New York Post.
Harris’ absence was deeply felt by the Nets last season after he was able to play in just 14 games before the ankle injury reared its ugly head. That seems to be a thing of the past now, according to Priority Sports founder Mark Bartelstein.
“He’s doing great. He’s great,” Bartelstein told The Post. “He’s 100 percent. He’s in a great place.”
Harris’ agent later added that he had been cleared for five-on-five work.
“Yes. He’s all good. He’s all good,” Bartelstein said. “He’s healthy. He’s in a great place. He’s ready to go for sure.”
Without Harris, Brooklyn was forced to rely heavily on Patty Mills to be their sharpshooter. The veteran played as well as he could before cooling off later in the season and the Nets added Seth Curry to help during the trade deadline.
Much like the Nets season last year, Harris’ injury became quite convoluted after suffering the initial injury during a Nov. 14 game with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He underwent surgery on Nov. 29 and was only expected to miss four to eight weeks, but that kept getting pushed back and he eventually had an additional arthroscopic surgery earlier this year that ended any hope of him returning for the 2021-22 campaign.
Rumors had persisted that teams were interested in trying to trade for the sharpshooter during the course of the year, but the Nets never seemed interested in parting ways with Harris. “I know he’s someone they value at the highest level,” Bartelstein said.
With Harris back in the fold and healthy, the Nets could have quite the group of sharpshooters returning to the court for them this season. Seth Curry proved how valuable he can be from beyond the arc and Brooklyn has the best shooting duo in the NBA.
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Among active players, Seth Curry’s 43.95% three-point shooting in his career is the best in the NBA followed by Harris, who has shot 43.90% from beyond the arc during his career.
The Nets have quickly moved back into the good graces of odds makers to be title contenders this season after Kevin Durant rescinded his trade request that he made right before the start of free agency in June.
