Heat’s Oladipo traveling, but won’t play on trip. Also, Adebayo, Herro and Yurtseven updates

Guard Victor Oladipo traveled with the Miami Heat to Toronto for the start of the team’s four-game trip, but that doesn’t mean he will make his return in the coming days.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Oladipo, who has yet to play this regular season because of left knee tendinosis, will not play during the trip that begins Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors and ends on Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Instead, Oladipo traveled with the Heat for the first time this regular season because of the “connectivity” that comes with being around the team.

“He’s making a lot of progress,” Spoelstra said before Wednesday’s game in Toronto. “But guys that are injured, a lot of your work is by yourself and behind the scenes. This is a good opportunity for him to spend a week with the group and he’ll be able to get enough of his work in, which I think is just good for his emotions and his stability more than anything.”

Following the Heat’s morning shootaround session at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, Oladipo said that “it’s nice just to be with the squad, watching everybody and feeling involved.”

But when asked if there’s a timetable for his return, Oladipo didn’t have a definitive one.

“Just time will tell,” Oladipo said in his first comments to the media since first appearing on the injury report with this latest knee issue days before the season opener. “When I feel right and everybody’s on the same page, then I’ll be ready to play.”

Oladipo, 30, already endured two long recoveries stemming from a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee in January 2019 that required a second surgery in May 2021. He waited until March 7 to make his season debut last season following an 11-month recovery.

While the tendinosis is not in his surgically repaired knee, the injury could be indirectly connected to his injury history. Spoelstra pointed to “overcompensation and a lot of load on the other leg” when discussing Oladipo’s left knee issue last month.

“I worked really hard,” Oladipo said Wednesday. “So sometimes when you work hard, you can overwork. It’s just how life works. But I’m still optimistic, I’m still positive. This is how life works. I’m doing fine. I’m doing better and I’m looking forward to playing.”

The Heat continues to take a patient approach with Oladipo even though he’s coming off his first full healthy offseason since 2018. He sat out the Heat’s first three preseason games as he continued to work with the training staff to prepare his body for the long season ahead, but did play in the team’s final two preseason games before this injury sidelined him just before the start of the regular season.

This past summer, Oladipo signed a two-year, $18.2 million contract as a free agent to remain with the Heat. The deal includes a second-year player option of $9.5 million.

“I think it’s more of a making-sure thing, and then taking the proper steps before going out there, instead of just going out there recklessly,” Oladipo said when asked if pain remains in his left knee. “As long as we’re all on the same page, we’re trying to make sure that I get out there as safely and as great as possible. That’s what we’re working on.”

HERRO UPDATE

Along with missing Oladipo, the Heat will also be without guard Tyler Herro on Wednesday against the Raptors. It marks the fifth consecutive game that Herro has missed because of a sprained left ankle.

Herro did not travel with the team in Toronto, instead staying in Miami to continue the rehab process.

“It’s day-to-day,” Spoelstra said when asked about Herro’s status on Wednesday. “He’s doing twice-a-day work there, and we’ll continue to get him feeling better and getting more mobility, and then we’ll see what happens toward the end of this road trip.”

Spoelstra said Herro joining the team at some point during the four-game trip is “a possibility, but it’s day-to-day right now.”

“This is about him getting around the clock treatment in our facilities and then we’ll go from there,” Spoelstra said.

YURTSEVEN UPDATE

Heat center Omer Yurtseven has yet to play this season and he’s expected to miss the next few months after undergoing successful surgery on Tuesday for an “impingement, bone spur and stress reaction in his left ankle.”

While the Heat has not offered a timetable for Yurtseven’s return, the team believes he will be able to play again at some point this season. The expectation is the surgery will sideline Yurtseven for about three months, according to multiple league sources.

“He really tried to manage and fight through it,” Spoelstra said of Yurtseven on Wednesday. “It’s admirable that he was trying to do that. If he was like me or you and just walking around, you can get away with it. But if you’re trying to play NBA basketball games at the highest level, it’s something that you for sure have to take care of. It was successful and the prognosis looks good. I don’t have a definitive timeline. But everything that everybody has told me, after some rest and some rehab and the appropriate time to build it back up, he will be available at some point this season.”

ADEBAYO ALSO OUT

The Heat ruled out Udonis Haslem (personal reasons), Herro, Oladipo and Yurtseven on Tuesday for Wednesday’s game in Toronto.

But starting center Bam Adebayo was added to the injury report Wednesday morning. After Adebayo was initially listed as questionable because of a left knee contusion, he was later downgraded to out for the Heat’s game against the Raptors.

It marks the first game that Adebayo, who is in Toronto with the team, has missed this season. Spoelstra labeled Adebayo as day-to-day.

Without Adebayo, Haslem, Herro, Oladipo and Yurtseven, the Heat is down to 11 available players in Toronto.

The Raptors will also be short-handed against the Heat on Wednesday.

The Raptors ruled out Precious Achiuwa (right ankle sprain), Ron Harper Jr. (G League), Otto Porter Jr. (left foot toe dislocation), Pascal Siakam (right adductor strain) and Gary Trent Jr. (right hip soreness).