Hawks coach Terry Stotts will begin his first NBA training camp as head coach today, something he has been waiting to do for many years.

And what has Stotts been asked to do? Wait some more --- for his veterans to arrive, and for a full roster.

"We have eight guys under contract who will not be there. It'll be different," Stotts said after playing a round at the Hawks Foundation golf event at Bear's Best in Suwanee. "You'd like to have a full team. You make the best of it."

Under an agreement between the league and the players union in February, players with four years or more experience don't have to show up until Thursday. Veterans aren't even allowed on the premises unless they are rehabbing injuries, so Stotts won't even have enough players for five-on-five the first two days.

Joining draft picks Boris Diaw and Travis Hansen in camp today will be free agents Tierre Brown, William "Smush" Parker, Obinna Ekezie, Jerry Holman and Lee Nailon, who spent last season with the New York Knicks after spending his first two seasons with the Hornets.

But second-year point guard Dan Dickau said he will be "limited" because of the right heel injury he suffered in summer league play. Stotts couldn't say when Dickau will be ready to go full strength.

"I don't know if it's going to be two, three or four weeks," Stotts said.

At least Stotts knows he will have a full staff. The Hawks Monday hired former longtime Houston Rockets assistant Larry Smith, former Phoenix Suns and Vancouver Grizzlies assistant Jim Boylan, former Hawks guard and Columbia University head coach Armond Hill and Mike McNeive as assistants. McNeive, who has worked with Stotts in Milwaukee and Seattle, will also serve as an advance scout.

"It's a blend of experience, diversity --- quality people with good work ethic," Stotts said. "I'm just very excited to have those guys on my staff."

Guard Smush Parker, who seemingly wore out his welcome as a rookie in Cleveland, has received a camp invitation from the Hawks, as have NBA veterans Tierre Brown and Obina Ekezie. There is a chance free-agent swingman DerMarr Johnson, who missed last season after a horrific car crash, also could return to the Hawks. ...

Stephen Jackson, so I'm told, failed to show up for a scheduled Clipper audition late last week, claiming his flight from Texas to L.A. (he took a later one) had been canceled. That was later discovered to be untrue. Then the 6-8 swingman left town early the next morning before coach Mike Dunleavy could eyeball him on the floor. Why the flagrant irresponsibility? Surely the Hawks must be offering more money, more years, more minutes, more something. Well, it's certainly not more money or years. The most Jackson can pocket in Atlanta is $1M for 2003-04, whereas the Clips were offering the Spurs free agent $2.5M per for two, but no longer. "We've decided to go in a new direction," underlined an L.A. official.

After marinating, then slow roasting most of the summer, the Hawks have plopped into the microwave in regard to player personnel.

A day after retaining the rights of point guard Jason Terry, general manager Billy Knight gave him a familiar backcourt mate by re-signing shooting guard Dion Glover to a one-year deal Friday.

"It's finally here," a relieved Glover said. "That's what patience is for."

Financial terms were not disclosed, but earlier this summer the Hawks made Glover an unrestricted free agent by electing not to make him a $2.27 million qualifying offer.

With Glover and Terry in place, the Hawks have one more piece to fill at small forward with veterans arriving for training camp in less than a week. That could happen early next week, possibly Monday, with Stephen Jackson and Steve Smith presumably vying for that vacant spot.

"I'd like to say, 'Yeah, that last domino is going to fall right away,' " Knight said. "All I can say is that our focus has narrowed down some because it's so late."

Entering his fifth season in the league, Glover had somewhat of a breakout 2002-03 season, averaging career-highs of 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 76 games. In 42 starts, his numbers rose to 12.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6, and the team was 21-21.

"Dion made great strides last year, and we look for him continue that upward trend that he is in and continue to play well for us," Knight said.

Who says Jason Terry isn't a point guard? Hawks coach Terry Stotts called him "one of the best point guards in the East" at a news conference Thursday announcing that the team matched the three-year, $22.5 million offer sheet Terry signed with the Utah Jazz.

And shortly after he was signed and sealed, Terry was delivering assists left and right.

After expressing his excitement about staying in Atlanta --- "This is the only place I wanted to be," he said --- and shaking hands with the Hawks' new ownership group, which was in attendance, Terry said he is aiding general manager Billy Knight in his free agent pursuits.

"I've already been on the phone, talking to whatever free agents we have left, namely [San Antonio Spurs forward] Stephen Jackson," Terry said, flashing a grin. "[I'm] trying to coerce him to come on and join us. I told him, 'There is a spot open for you in that backcourt. You'll fit in real well with us . . .and help us win.' "

Terry, approaching his fifth season in the league, will earn about $8 million this season, including a $4 million signing bonus. With Terry in place, the Hawks' payroll will be about $51 million for just 10 players. The team still needs starters at small forward and shooting guard.

Raja Bell said Thursday that he plans to sign early next week with Atlanta, Utah or San Antonio.

Bell, a free agent who was a defensive specialist at shooting guard and small forward for the Mavericks last season, said the Mavs offered him a two-year contract at the league minimum early in the off-season, which he rejected. "After that," Bell said, "I never received another offer from them."

Utah has a spot for Bell because Atlanta decided Thursday to match the Jazz's three-year, $22.5 million offer sheet to guard Jason Terry. But Bell said the Spurs and Hawks are also in the picture for his services.

"I would have loved to have been back with the Mavericks," Bell said. "I waited all summer for them, but I guess we just saw things different."

The Mavericks already have 15 players, the NBA maximum, under contract. One of those contracts, for rookie Jon Stefansson, is not guaranteed, but he is expected to make the team.

The Hawks cannot decide when they will make it official, but either today or Friday, the team will match the three-year, $22.5 million offer sheet that restricted free agent point guard Jason Terry signed with the Utah Jazz on Sept. 11. The only certainty is the team won't let Terry jet off to Salt Lake City, but it has until 11:59 p.m. Friday.

"It won't come down to the time of the day," Hawks general manager Billy Knight said. "Hopefully, it'll just get done, and we'll move on."

But given how long it's taken for the Hawks to get anything done this offseason, anything is possible.

Patience has been a necessity this summer, but now is the time when the team should be getting a wee bit antsy. Training camp begins Tuesday for rookies and players with less than four years' experience, with veterans arriving Oct. 2, and the Hawks still have gaping holes at small forward and shooting guard.

"Obviously, we'd like to have guys before training camp. That's what we're going to try to do," Knight said.

But Knight said he intends to stay below the luxury tax threshold --- "We can't go over," he said --- no matter whom he signs. High on the Hawks' priority list is San Antonio Spurs free agent Stephen Jackson, a 6-foot-8 wing who averaged 11.8 points last season. The San Antonio Express-News reported this week that Jackson turned down the Spurs' three-year, $10 million deal before the team acquired Ron Mercer and Hedo Turkoglu in a three-team trade in July. He might not receive that kind of money from either the Hawks or the Los Angeles Clippers, the other team that is reportedly considering engaging his services.

"We have interest in him, absolutely," Knight said of Jackson. "He's young, he's got talent, been on a championship team."

So you're an NBA GM seeking to add one final piece to your roster for the 2003-04 season? Maybe an athletic guy who can run the floor, shoot the three and play more than one position? How about a guy with playoff experience? That would be nice.

So you start perusing the list of available free agents, only to find the usual assortment of journeymen, castoffs and over-the-hill types. Then, suddenly, one name jumps out at you: Stephen Jackson. Stephen Jackson?

You mean the the 6-foot-8 swingman who started for last year's NBA champion Spurs? The guy who averaged 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds during the playoffs? The guy who poured in 17 points in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, helping the Spurs clinch the title?

After last season Jackson had a chance to re-sign with the Spurs. Although Popovich wasn't thrilled with Jackson's penchant for turnovers and uneven play, he was willing to reward him for his contributions. The Spurs even offered Jackson, who made $700,000 a year ago, a three-year deal worth around $10 million, according to sources.

What happened?

Call it bad planning. Or bad timing. Or maybe a little of both.

As expected, the Pistons signed free-agent small forward Darvin Ham to a one-year contract worth $825,000 on Tuesday.

Ham, a 6-foot-7, 240-pounder originally from Saginaw, will go into camp Oct. 2 as the third small forward behind Tayshaun Prince and Corliss Williamson.

Ham, 30, has played 316 NBA games for five teams over the last six seasons. He played 75 games for the Hawks last season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds.

Now that the Hawks' ownership situation is settled, pending NBA approval, more immediate attention can be turned back to matters on the floor.

The ball is in the Hawks' court regarding restricted free agent point guard Jason Terry, after he signed a three-year, $22.5 million offer sheet with the Utah Jazz, and the clock is ticking --- training camp starts in eight days and the Hawks have only three days to match Utah's offer.

Though Terry said the Jazz's front-loaded contract --- he is expected to earn $8 million in the first year --- would be difficult to match, Hawks general manager Billy Knight said the team would do just that --- a decision the new ownership group supported at last Tuesday's news conference.

And, with only nine players under contract, the Hawks really can't afford to let Terry go.

Knight said last week that since the team knows Terry's price tag, it can finally begin the process of adding the final pieces to the roster, and budget accordingly, before training camp begins in eight days. By matching Terry's offer sheet, the Hawks' payroll next season will be about $51 million (once Terrell Brandon's $11.1 million contract comes off the books in February).

"I'm glad it's over, one way or another," Knight said about Terry's contract situation. "That helps you know where you are. Before, you didn't know."

The team still needs starters at small forward and shooting guard. No franchise saviors are available this late in the game, but Stephen Jackson, Steve Smith, Dion Glover and Raja Bell give the team a few options to at least have a full team. It's just a matter of fitting in those players while remaining under the luxury tax threshold (expected to be about $57 million) --- the main reason the Hawks dealt leading scorer Glenn Robinson for Brandon's contract.