With the trade deadline passing Thursday, the Nets aren’t expecting a boost to come from soon-to-be-waived Greg Monroe. They’re expecting it to come from Caris LeVert, making his long-awaited return Friday against Chicago.
LeVert has been out for nearly three months with a gruesome foot injury that had teammates convinced he’d miss the season. But the 24-year-old — no stranger to overcoming foot woes — has made it back before the All-Star break.
“He’s in. He’s in [Friday]. Our talk with our medical team, performance team, coaches, how he recovered and looked and feel like the buildup’s sufficient,” said coach Kenny Atkinson, who viewed the returns of LeVert and Allen Crabbe as akin to adding key players.