Nets forward out for remainder of season due to leg injury

Nets forward Keita Bates-Diop will miss the rest of the regular season due to a leg injury, according to a statement from the team.

The Nets announced that Bates-Diop underwent a procedure on Wednesday to address a stress fracture of his right tibia (shin bone). He’s expected to resume on-court activities in about one month.

With Brooklyn currently 5.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, it’s a safe bet we won’t see the 28-year-old back in action before next season.

Following a career year with the Spurs in 2022-23, Bates-Diop signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Suns last summer. He appeared in 39 games for Phoenix and started eight of them, but put up modest numbers — including 4.5 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .427/.313/.722 shooting — before being traded to Brooklyn in the deadline deal that sent Royce O’Neale to the Suns.

Bates-Diop didn’t crack the Nets’ regular rotation after arriving in Brooklyn, playing just 68 total minutes in 14 games for the club before being diagnosed with a tibial stress fracture.

Given how his season played out, Bates-Diop seems likely to exercise his minimum-salary player option for 2024-25, guaranteeing his $2,654,644 cap hit for next season. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’d be on Brooklyn’s 2024-25 roster, but the Nets would be on the hook for his full salary unless he’s traded or bought out.