"Mehmet Okur isn't all the way back.

The center isn't ready to go all out in practices, or even make contact in drills or scrimmages. He doesn't have a timetable for an official return from his left Achilles surgery yet, either.

But progress is being made — physically and mentally.

That was evident by the fact that he shot around, worked on post-up moves and did individual drills with the team Thursday morning for the first time this fall.

"I just want to be out there, be with my teammates," Okur said. "And it's been a while, so it felt good."

The Jazz will have Okur evaluated soon to see if a return can be more precisely pinpointed. He will travel with the team for its three-game trip in Los Angeles and Anaheim.

"A time schedule is difficult to put on it," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said. "But he's improving and that's the important thing."

Okur has been doing cardio and shooting to stay in shape. He recently returned to the P3 performance facility in Santa Barbara, Calif., to rebuild strength in his left hip, hamstring, quad and calf.

"I thought it was great, challenging," Okur said.

Okur is also working on overcoming confidence issues regarding his heel, which ruptured and required surgery during the playoffs last April. He still struggles to put 100 percent of his weight on his left side.

"It's not pain. It's more mental right now," Okur said. "It's been six months I've been thinking about, 'Am I going to step on something? Am I going to do this? If I do this hopefully it's not going to hurt.' I try to get more trust on my leg."

The Jazz are confident Okur is doing everything in his power to get back ASAP. O'Connor lauded the nine-year veteran's strong desire to play — even when in pain. Okur has played in 94 percent of possible regular-season games (461 of 492) in six seasons with Utah.

"He doesn't want to miss games," O'Connor said, "so he's working his tail off to get ready to play and we're going to (be) cautious with it."

Added Okur: "I've got to look forward to get better every day, try (to) get back on the floor with my teammates as fast as I can. But I want to be smart at the same time. I don't want to push or rush anything to rehurt something else.""