Miami Heat em Washington Wizards

This is a tough blow for the point guard who was penciled in as the top backup behind Davion Mitchell. If he indeed misses a couple weeks, he could be back in time for their final preseason contest Oct. 16.

This is a tough blow for Johnson as it rules him out for the entire preseason. The forward is on a two-way contract and is expected to feature for Miami's G League affiliate.

Sarr has been limited in training camp thus far while working his way back from surgery he underwent in mid-June to repair a fractured right foot. The big man is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, though it's unclear how active he'll be during the preseason. Over 48 regular-season games in 2025-26, he averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 blocks and 0.8 steals in 27.2 minutes per contest.

Watkins, a two-way player for the Wizards, suffered the injury during the Summer League. Although Washington has yet to offer a timetable for a return, a typical recovery time for the procedure is approximately 9-to-12 months. That leaves Watkins in serious jeopardy of missing most, if not all, of the 2026-27 season, and it remains to be seen if the team will continue keeping him around on a two-way roster spot while he's injured.

Although the big man will remain a limited participant in training camp as he continues his rehab from a hip impingement, it sounds like his absence from game action will extend into the regular season. Deandre Ayton should have the backup center role all to himself until Vukcevic is cleared to retake the floor.