Heat’s Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic still working back from ailments less than three weeks from camp

MIAMI — Terry Rozier’s neck? Check. Nikola Jovic’s left ankle? Ambulatory.

As the Miami Heat begin to file back to South Florida ahead of the Oct. 1 start of training camp at the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas , the prognosis for a healthy roster continues to trend in a positive direction.

But also is not fully there yet.

Rozier, who missed the end of last season with what the team listed as neck spasms, an issue that eventually had him in a neck brace, said that months later he is continuing work his way back on the team’s practice court at Kaseya Center.

Jovic, whose offseason was limited by what he confirmed as an ankle fracture, similarly is trending toward a positive outcome.

With Rozier sidelined late in the season , he was unavailable for both of the Heat’s games in the play-in round as well as the 4-1 first-round ouster at the hands of the Boston Celtics.

Acquired in January from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a future first-round pick, Rozier, 30, said he is eager for a fresh, injury-free start.

“I would say not totally fully, fully, fully cleared playing five-on-five,” Rozier said of his current status, “but I am doing every on-court activity, playing a little bit three-on-three. But I figure in the next couple of weeks I’ll be graduating to five-on-five.”

The last five-on-five action for Rozier was in the Heat’s critical April 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers, when his neck ailment initially was listed as the result of a sleeping issue.

“I’ve been trying to get back right ever since the season ended,” he said. “So that required doing little stuff, like if I couldn’t run yet, I was doing bike riding or incline walking and stuff like that. So my condition is pretty good. Now, you’ll never be in basketball condition like you think, until you step on the court and play a little bit.”

Those next steps might not fully come until training camp . . . or later.

“I’ve been playing this whole month, and I’m feeling great, just getting my wind up and everything else will take care of itself. I think getting my wind up is the most important thing,” he said.

“It’s already been therapeutic just for me to come in every day. Just the start of rehab and to where I’m at right now — when we started rehab I wasn’t running at all, we were doing everything on a treadmill. Now I’m sprints, playing three-on-three. So it has been therapeutic for a while.”

For his part, Jovic said the recovery process is ongoing but almost complete, with the Heat’s expectation of full clearance for camp.

“I would say I’m almost fully healthy,” said Jovic, who closed last season as the Heat’s starting power forward. “Of course, there are ligaments that still have to be 100 percent, and they told me to take a little bit more time, but it shouldn’t be an issue.”

Jovic was injured in a June session on the Heat practice court, ahead of winning Olympic bronze last month with Serbia at the Paris Games.

Related Articles

• Miami Heat | ASK IRA: Is riding the Jimmy Butler wave as simple as surf, sink or swim for the Heat?
• Miami Heat | ASK IRA: Have Heat made a statement with their choice of extensions?
• Miami Heat | ASK IRA: Do Heat run risk of getting lost in South Florida sports success?
• Miami Heat | ASK IRA: Is Heat holding pattern a short-term pause ahead of major personnel decision?
• Miami Heat | Ira Winderman: Kid stuff all well and good for Heat, but reality soon to hit home

“Everything was going good. I felt it was really going great,” Jovic said. “I came back to Miami in June. (Coach Erik Spoelstra) and everybody just wanted to make sure I was in great shape for the Olympics, and I think at that point they even thought I was in really good shape and everything was ready.

“And then at a point during the practice, I just landed badly. That’s part of the game, I guess. I had a little fracture, just not a normal sprained ankle. So I did MRIs and everything and at that point they weren’t sure I was going to make it to the Olympics.”

Jovic, 21, said his uneven and limited play at the Olympics largely was due to a lack of practice time ahead of the Games.

Even while in Paris, the No. 27 first-round pick in 2022 said his goal was to be ready for Heat camp.

“I would say that the whole rehab thing was even going on while I was at the Olympics,” he said. “So even though I wasn’t really able to practice, because I was kind of saving everything I have there for the games, I was still rehabbing. I didn’t want to lose any time. Two weeks after the Olympics I was really ready to go.

“I came in a little bit earlier (back to Miami) just to make sure and all activities are good. Even now, we’re making sure my foot is good after practice. We really don’t want any new problems with it. In training camp, I wouldn’t say I’m going to sit down, but we’ll see. I want to make sure I’m good.”

Two added

The Heat added two players Wednesday, bringing their roster to the NBA offseason limit if 21. Both were signed to Exhibit 10 camp tryout contracts.

Added were 26-year-old center Malik Williams, who spent part of last season with the team’s G League affiliate, and Bryson Warren, a 20-year-old guard who also was with the Sioux Falls Skyforce last season.

The expectation is that Williams and Warren both will be funneled to the Heat G League affiliate.

Teams typically add players at this time of year as a means of sending players to their G League affiliate, as the Heat did before training camp last season.

Williams went undrafted out of Louisville in 2022 and finished last season with the Toronto Raptors. Warren went undrafted out of Overtime Elite in 2023, before moving on to the Skyforce and then spending this offseason with the Heat summer-league roster.