Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Joe Harris will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle to remove “a little bone particle,” head coach Steve Nash told reporters on Monday.
His status will be updated after the procedure.
Harris’ agent, Mark Bartlestein, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that his client is expected to miss 4-8 weeks.
He has not played since rolling his ankle against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov 14.
Harris has led the NBA in 3-point percentage in two of the previous three seasons, converting 45.8% of his 5.8 attempts per game during that span.
He was shooting 46.6% on 6.3 attempts a night at the time of his injury, good for second in the NBA among qualifying individuals.
The league leader is Harris’ replacement in Brooklyn’s starting lineup, Patty Mills, who is shooting 50% on an average of 6.4 tries through 20 games.
Brooklyn has been heavily reliant on end-of-the-bench options Jevon Carter and Deandre’ Bembry to fill the shoes of Harris and Kyrie Irving.
They are shooting a combined 33.8% on 3.8 attempts from distance per game.
Through it all, the Nets have posted an Eastern Conference-best 14-6 record, thanks in large part to Durant’s MVP-caliber campaign.
His 28.6 points per game lead the league on 55/41/85 shooting splits, while fellow co-star James Harden has struggled quite a bit to start the season.
The absence of Joe Harris will not aid Harden’s cause, whose conditioning has suffered greatly since his hamstring injury towards the end of last season.
Under the new foul rules, the 2018 NBA MVP has struggled to score, and his movement looks much slower than in years past.