The Indiana Pacers will add another veteran presence to their backcourt today when free-agent point guard Kenny Anderson signs a one-year guaranteed contract.

Financial terms were not available. The veterans' minimum is $1.1 million.

The Pacers will be Anderson's seventh team in his 12-year NBA career.

President of basketball operations Larry Bird has said adding a point guard to the mix of third-year starter Jamaal Tinsley, Anthony Johnson and Jamison Brewer was a priority before the team began training camp Sept. 29 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Johnson, Jason Kidd's backup with the New Jersey Nets the past two seasons, was signed as a free agent in July. Brewer is entering his third season.

Anderson also drew interest from the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, but those teams were not offering a guaranteed contract.

"He likes the Pacers and he likes (coach) Rick Carlisle," Anderson's agent, Jeff Wechsler, said Thursday. "He has great respect for him and what he's accomplished as a coach."

Under new NBA rules, Hornets coach Tim Floyd couldn't ask his veteran players to report to training camp early.

He didn't need to. Most of them came anyway.
"They come in here and you have to tell them to stop -- that's enough for the day," said Hornets strength and conditioning coach Marc Boff.

"I don't know if it's the coaching change or what, but it seems like everybody has a positive outlook. I'm hearing nothing but players telling me that they are following their workout plans."

Hired in June to replace Paul Silas, Floyd has much to do before the season starts, from determining who his top reserves will be to teaching players a new offense. Even so, players with at least four years experience can't be required to show up for workouts before Oct. 2. The rule was a concession to players after the league decided last February to change the first round of the playoffs from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven format.

Still, eight of the 14 players under contract are working out four to five days a week and for at least two hours at the practice facility the Alario Center.

After signing a four-year, $34 million contract this summer to remain with the Hornets, P.J. Brown is anxious for the season to start.

But first, he must recover from a minor surgery last month that removed bone fragments in his left ankle.

Brown hopes to be practicing with his teammates when camp opens Oct. 3.

"He's eager and he's anxious to get out and start running, which he has not been given clearance to do, but he feels like he's at the point where he could," Hornets coach Tim Floyd said. "He's been up here (at the Alario Center) every day working."

It likely will be another week or longer before doctors permit Brown to run. He began exercises in a swimming pool Tuesday. Most of his rehabilitation work has involved riding on a stationary bike.

Brown, a 10-year veteran, was one of the top free-agent power forwards available this summer, and he turned down an offer to join the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Brown wanted to continue living year-around with his family in his hometown of Slidell.

"I'm just trying to take the necessary steps so I won't re-injure myself," Brown said Tuesday after going through a two-hour workout at the Alario Center.

"It was hard to get the surgery done, because I thought it would set me back from being ready. But now I'm glad I got it done. There was a big knot (on the ankle) and they took it out and it feels much better now."

Hornets second-round draft pick James Lang must earn a spot on the roster before he'll be offered a guaranteed rookie contract.

Unlike first-round pick David West, who was signed to a contract a few weeks after being drafted, Lang must make the team before he sees any money. Training camp is set to begin next month.

"We sent him the rookie tender on Aug. 22 and he's got 30 days to send it back to us," said Bob Bass, the Hornets vice president of basketball operations and general manager. "I don't know what he plans to do."

Lang, 6 feet 10, 305 pounds, was one of the five high school players eligible for NBA draft in June. If he reports to camp, he would be the Hornets' least experienced player. He averaged 21 points and 14 rebounds last season at Central Park Christian School in Birmingham, Ala.

Bass said if Lang, 19, declines the deal, the Hornets would retain his rights, thus prohibiting another NBA team from signing him.

If Lang agrees to the deal and is cut in training camp, then he would be eligible to sign with another NBA team. Bass declined to give the financial terms of the offer, and Lang could not be reached for comment.