Jazz back in Salt Lake, Boozer still in Miami

Done now with training camp in Boise, the Jazz opened preseason practice Monday morning in Salt Lake City — still without power forward Carlos Boozer, their leading scorer and top rebounder last season.

Boozer missed all eight sessions in Boise last week so he could remain at home in Miami, where his 1-year-old son Carmani is recovering from a bone-marrow transplant related to his bout with sickle cell anemia.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said Monday that he has spoken recently with Boozer, but there still is no publicly announced timetable for his anticipated arrival in Utah.

"He's gonna show up," Sloan said.

"We didn't really get into (timetables)," he added. "I talked to him a little bit about it, but ... when he's here, that's when we'll talk about it."

It seems unlikely Boozer will be available for the Jazz's preseason opener Wednesday night vs. Milwaukee, and Sloan said nothing Monday to suggest it's certain he'll join the team for weekend exhibition road games Friday at Detroit or Saturday at Milwaukee.

The Jazz conclude a three-game preseason trip Monday night at Phoenix.

"I'll just wait and see when he gets here," Sloan said. "You know, you make plans to do something like that — and it's like, you know, something else comes up, and he has to stay.

"So I think it's better said just, 'When he gets here, we're going to work with him.' I'm sure he's anxious to be here, but those things (family concerns) are more important than basketball."

Meanwhile, Jazz backup center Jarron Collins (slight quad strain) returned to practice Monday after sitting out Saturday. Backup small forward Matt Harpring, however, was limited again only to non-contact drills while continuing to rehab a surgically repaired knee.

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