<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> don?t know if it?s the smell of the gym or if I?m just anxious for training camp to start, but can we get started already?! I made another pit stop to the Hawks? practice court this morning. It was a fact-finding trip as well as yours truly just being a snoop and wanting to see who?d already made it back to town. There was a good crowd, many current players and most of the guys who will be on the training camp roster. There?s nothing major to report beyond the fact that Speedy Claxton was there working out, busted finger in the cast and all. Josh Smith was there, too. And I can verify the added muscle (he said he?s up to 240 with an eye toward shedding at least five during training camp). Tyronn Lue showed up as well, looking fit, trim and toned up (said he?s down to 177, his lightest weight since college) for his second full season with the team. Al Harrington even dropped by after most of the full court runs were over; he?s heading to Indiana in the morning but wanted to get some shots up one last time before leaving town. But I was honestly more interested in the new faces on the floor, the guys who?ll round out the training camp roster. The Hawks have just 13 players under guaranteed contracts for the upcoming season. So theoretically, there?s room for two more guys. Most teams elect to leave a roster spot or two open to maintain some flexibility once the season starts. I expect the Hawks to do the same. But there are some guys on the training camp roster that will make them think hard about that. Here they are, in alphabetical order (with some general observations): Cedric Bozeman, 6-6, 207, guard: The former UCLA star impressed on the Hawks? summer league team and has been in and around the practice floor each and every time I?ve been there this summer. He can play both guard spots and even some small forward. But the Hawks are stacked at his spot; so making the team will take some work. Andre Brown, 6-9, 245, forward: Brown is a classic power forward with plenty of experience. He?s explosive, too, as he showed with numerous dunks and dunk attempts over people Monday. He?ll push the young guys (Shelden Williams especially) during camp. Lionel Chalmers, 6-0, 180, guard: You might remember this guy from Xavier?s NCAA tournament run a few years back. He was the explosive point guard that teamed up with Romain Sato and carried the Musketeers to within a game of the Final Four. He?ll help out while Claxton recovers, but has Lue and Royal Ivey blocking his path. Kaniel Dickens, 6-8, 215, forward: This former Idaho stars epitomizes the life of those NBA training camp ?tweeners? who, for whatever reason, bounce around from training camp to training camp and minor league to foreign league with the occasional call up to the NBA. He seems to have everything you?d want from a player except the guaranteed contract. Go figure. Matt Freije, 6-10, 240: More than any other guy I saw Monday, this former Vanderbilt star (who spent time his rookie year with the New Orleans Hornets) will make it tough to send him home. Freije has the size, skills and experience to make a roster, provided he stays healthy and there is an opening. He can stroke it from deep and nasty enough to go to work inside. Keep an eye on the former second-round pick. Andreas Glyniadakis, 7-1, 280: He?ll no doubt be the biggest guy in camp. A second round pick (No. 58 overall) of the Detroit Pistons in 2003 and a training camp participant in 2005, the Greek big fella makes you take pause and take notice of him. He can shoot it, like most international big men. And he?s not afraid to mix it up, he showed as much Monday and in the NBDL last season. His size alone will make him hard to ignore. Beyond that, we?ll just have to wait until next week before we know anything else.</div> Source
