ATLANTA, July 15 -- Continuing their roster changes that began Monday night, the Atlanta Hawks signed free agent center Dikembe Mutombo to a multi-year deal after clearing room under the salary cap by trading swingman Stacey Augmon and forward Grant Long to the Detroit Pistons. ESPN is reporting Monday night that the deal is for five years and $50 million. The 7-foot-2 center averaged 11 points and 11.8 rebounds in 74 games last season for the Denver Nuggets. He also averaged a league-high 4.5 blocked shots per game, the third consecutive season he has led the NBA in that category. Detroit, which gave up four conditional draft choices in exchange for Augmon and Long, also re-signed guard Michael Curry and forward Don Reid. The move gives Atlanta a presence in the middle that was sorely missed in last year's playoffs, when the Hawks lost to the Orlando Magic in four games in the first round of the Eastern Conference. Mutombo has averaged a double-double all five years in the league, but his scoring average has steadily declined from 16.6 points per game his rookie year and the 11.8 rebounds matches the lowest mark of his career. The 30-year-old native of Zaire was the fourth overall draft pick in the 1991 NBA Draft. 'For the six-and-a-half years that I've been here, we've been working to bring in a legitimate center,' said Hawks Vice President/General Manager Pete Babcock. 'It's an opportunity to bring in an outstanding shot blocker and rebounder.
Defensively, we improved dramatically so we think this is really a cornerstone for us, doing some things for the future to try and take that next step.' Mutombo is also another of superagent David Falk's many clients that have signed lucrative contracts in the offseason. Alonzo Mourning, Mutombo's college teammate st Georgetown, re-signed with the Miami Heat for a reported $105 million, forward Juwan Howard also is expected to join the Heat with a price tag of $98 million and Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan signed a one-year deal with the team for $25 million. Falk also represents Kenny Anderson, who is one of the top point guards still available. The Hawks will get the rights to a first-round pick originally owned by the Sacramento Kings, but must wait until the selection occurs after the 15th overall spot. Atlanta also gets Detroit's lottery-protected first-round pick, beginning in 1998. In addition, the Hawks get Detroit's least-favorable second-round pick in 1997 and its best second-rounder in 1999. The 6-foot-8, 205-pound Augmon, an excellent defensive player, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Hawks. The 27-year-old Augmon averaged 12.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in 77 games last season. Augmon has career averages of 13.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He was named to the All-Rookie team in 1992 after being taken with the ninth overall draft pick out of Nevada-Las Vegas, where he teamed with Larry Johnson and won a national championship in 1990. Long joins his cousin, forward Terry Mills, on the Pistons. The 6-9, 248-pound Long played collegiately at Eastern Michigan and was picked by the Miami Heat with the 33rd selection in the 1988 draft. The 30-year- old was traded with Steve Smith to the Hawks for Kevin Willis two games into the 1994-95 campaign. Long averaged a career-best 9.6 reboundsand added 13.1 points while playing in all 82 games for Atlanta. In seven NBA seasons, he is averaging 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds. The 6-5, 210-pound Curry played in 41 games for Detroit last season and averaged 4.6 points and two rebounds. The 6-8, 250-pound Reid appeared in 69 games last season and averaged 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds. The Pistons were 30-15 in games in which the 22-year-old Reid started.
