"Throughout the course of sports history, a player's measurements are often greatly exaggerated to, in some cases, present a more fearsome or flattering persona. In the case of New Orleans Hornets backup center Aaron Gray, last season's listed weight of 270 pounds was, shall we say, patently misleading. "Oh man, " Gray said with a laugh when asked just where he was tipping the scales as the season ended in mid-April. "You don't even want to know. Three (hundred) plus. I can't get into specifics. I know everybody wants them. But definitely three-plus. But I tell you what, I'm way under three now. I'm really happy with where I'm at." Though Gray, at 7-feet and now weighs considerably less than 300 -- maybe even nearer his program weight -- will never be considered a gazelle-like sprinter, the way he was moving up and down the New Orleans Arena floor in Saturday's open-practice-scrimmage, and the visible leanness of his physique are indications that Gray could greatly increase his rotation minutes this season. And that could be welcomed news for a team that last season needed sizable inside reinforcements and unsettling news for opposing big men. "He's massive, " Hornets Coach Monty Williams said of his reaction to film of Gray's play last season in New Orleans. "But he's pretty light on his feet. And I mean that in a good way. He had a lot of size. I felt he had to get into better shape, just watching the film. But he's done a good job of trying to do that this summer. "We talked about it, but I never said anything about his weight. To me, you'll get to your playing weight if you run around enough. I don't know what a guy's playing weight is in training camp. He looks pretty good." Which could translate into more playing time for Gray, and beneficial returns for the Hornets. Remember what Gray was able to do last season in the fourth quarter of a comeback win against the Orlando Magic and center Dwight Howard, who'd scored 24 points in the first three periods but touched the ball just three times in the fourth because of Gray's hounding defensive presence. That effort provided Gray a glimpse of what he could become if he shed some pounds and focused on his conditioning in the offseason, which, to his credit, was something he fully embraced." Read more: http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2010/10/aaron_gray_provides_a_really_b.html
