SALT LAKE CITY — The shorthanded Nets have been looking forward to getting Joe Harris back right after the All-Star break. But that’s no sure thing, with Harris’ agent telling The Post there’s a chance he could need another ankle surgery.
“We’re just evaluating. He’s working his way back, he’s rehabbing. But we’re just trying to figure out what’s going to be the best course of action. We have to come to that decision,” Priority Sports’ Mark Bartelstein told The Post. “So I can’t really give you a definitive answer, because we just don’t have it yet of what we’re going to do.
“So it’s possible that there could be one more procedure he could do that would fix the ankle once and for good. But we’re not sure if we need that or not. So the long-term prognosis is great, it’s not gonna be a problem. But it’s just do we need to do something additional right now or not, and we’re just trying to figure that out.”
Harris hasn’t played since getting hurt in the Nets’ blowout win over the Thunder on Nov. 14. He had ankle surgery on Nov. 29, with the expectation that he’d be back in four to eight weeks.
But Harris suffered a setback while trying to return. And now, after having missed nine weeks, the next week or two will be pivotal in determining whether his ankle responds and he can play or whether another procedure is required.
“We’re just constantly kind of evaluating it. He’s trying to work back and working really hard at it, and we’re just trying to figure it out,” Bartelstein told The Post. “It’s just it’s either his ankle is going to respond and he’ll be able to play right now, or there might be one little more procedure we need to do just to get it completely right. And we’re just trying to figure that out.
“I think in the next week or so we’ll have a better feeling of what we’re going to do.”
The Nets have missed Harris’ floor spacing. Their effective field goal percentage of .563 in the 423 minutes he played dipped to .530 with him off the court.
James Harden made his 10th straight All-Star game as a reserve, joining starter Kevin Durant (who is out with an injury). He’s averaging 22 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Utah star Donovan Mitchell has cleared the league’s concussion protocol. After missing eight straight games, he is expected to return against the Nets on Friday.
The Nets’ Saturday game at Golden State was ABC’s top Saturday prime-time game in three years. It averaged a 1.8 rating and 3.17 million viewers, marking the most-watched edition of the Saturday night series since Warriors-Sixers in 2019.
Former New Jersey Nets head coach Bill Fitch passed away Wednesday at the age of 89.
The team tweeted the following statement: “We are saddened to hear of the passing of former Nets head coach Bill Fitch. Bill had a tremendous impact on the game of basketball and the Nets organization. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Fitch family during this difficult time.”
Fitch, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year (1976, 1980) who also helmed the Cavaliers, Celtics, Rockets and Clippers, guided the Nets into the 1992 playoffs with Drazen Petrovic, Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson. Fitch coached the Larry Bird-led Celtics to the 1981 NBA championship.
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