Training camp begins next week, with the first preseason game the following week.

In the meantime, there’s a good book out now that should give a true hoops fan an insight into the basketball life on the fringes. It’s called, “Can I Keep My Jersey,” and the author is Paul Shirley, a journeyman player in the truest sense of the word. The book, written in journal form, covers Shirley’s attempts to make basketball his career.

And did I mention that it’s funny, laugh-out-loud funny at times. Shirley, an Iowa State grad with a degree in engineering, takes an irreverent look at the game, the players and the places he travels.

Oh, and a few players who had a cup of coffee with the Sixers manage to get some ink, not all of it flattering.

So if you like basketball, or edgy, sometimes biting commentary, or both, this is a book you should seek out.

When the Sixers traded Steven Hunter for Reggie Evans on Monday they upgraded their frontcourt in a big way.

Although Evans gives up four inches to the 7-foot Hunter, he is a much better rebounder, averaging one rebound for every 2.76 minutes of playing time through the first five years of his career. Hunter, who averaged just 3.3 rebounds through six years in the NBA, averages just one rebound per 4.79 minutes.

The Sixers desperately needed some toughness, someone to take a hard foul or throw his body around. In the past two years, teams pretty much drove the lane with impunity against the Sixers, who were 24^th out of 30 teams in rebounding last year.

Calvin Booth, who is expected to sign Tuesday, adds veteran leadership and gives them another big body.

Sixers president Billy King said he doesn’t expect any more changes before training camp, but has he done enough for the Sixers to improve on last season’s lottery finish?

Samuel Dalembert will be in a hard cast for the next few weeks recovering from a stress fracture in his foot.

The 76ers say Dalembert should be ready by training camp, but the Sixers’ 6-11 center should take as long as he needs, because Dalembert is one of those players whose game will suffer if he can’t run comfortably. Two years ago, Dalembert had a hip strain in camp, tried several times to come back too early and never found his stride. So it’s better that he recuperate now, and even into the preseason, than risk a season-long, nagging injury.

We will closely monitor Sam's status over the next three weeks, but we 

anticipate that he will be ready to return to the court in time for the start of 

training camp," Sixers president Billy King said in a release.

His injury also points to the reason teams aren’t always thrilled to have their high-priced athletes playing for national teams during the summer. After years of flirting with the idea, Dalembert finally got his Canadian citizenship and played for Team Canada at the recent FIBA Americas Championship. It was during that tournament, after an 18-rebound game, that he first noticed some discomfort.

That said, injuries can happen at any time, and if a player wants to play for a national team he should be allowed.

The NBA Board of Governors has approved the use of instant replay for Flagrant Foul Penalty II calls, which result in the ejection of the player involved.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

According to the NBA release, “the Committee thought that the game

Officials’ first priority should be ending the altercation and that, in the course of doing so, they might not see a punch or other unsportsmanlike act committed by a player that might call for ejection.The use of instant replay will assist the officials in sorting out penalties after they have ended the altercation.”

Altercations like this are rare, so using replay to sort out penalties won’t slow the vast majority of games down. But it will see that justice is served. Once a player is tossed, his role in a game is over and there’s no going back. Fines can be reversed upon review, but the outcome of a game can’t be, so it only makes sense to get the call right at the time.