The Nets badly need sharpshooter Joe Harris back from ankle surgery, but recent reports suggested that Harris could need a second surgery on his injured ankle, which would put his season in jeopardy.
Speaking to reporters after Friday’s shootaround, Harris didn’t confirm that a second surgery was necessary, instead continuing his focus on his rehab as he tries to work his way closer towards his first game since Nov. 14.
“I don’t know the specific details,” Harris said, via the New York Post. “My focus is just continuing with the rehab and treatment and the program that we have in place. And we have amazing performance staff here, I’ve seen some great docs and the focus is just on the treatment aspect, the rehab aspect and not really that concerned with sort of like hypothetical procedures or anything like that.”
Harris has already run into delays with his recovery, which he says could be related to not giving himself enough time in each phase of his rehab.
“It’s one of these things where I was pretty eager to try and get back,” Harris said. “You get put [on] certain timelines initially so you’re obviously shooting to try and hit those when the reality of the matter is probably that I needed a little bit more time and a more gradual incline to what we were doing. But it wasn’t like any one thing where I just had to shut it down completely. It was more like in the progression of things I was just stuck at one tier doing this stuff vs. progressing up to the next one.”
As to whether Harris, one of the league’s best 3-point shooters capable of giving Brooklyn crucial floor spacing, will return at all this season to try and help pull the Nets back towards the top of the Eastern Conference, Harris declined to provide anything definitive, but he remains hopeful.
“That’s hard to say,” Harris said. “In my mind, I’m confident that I’ll be able to get back. I’ve been optimistic through this whole thing; I haven’t really lost faith in the fact that I’m going to be able to come back and play, and that’s the same spot that I’m in right now. I’m not going to just completely give in on what’s going on.
“It’s hard to determine, so all the energy and focus has got to be put into trying to do the right stuff right now. Then, whatever happens happens later on.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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