After the big trade yesterday, Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that the Sixers acquired one player who had once stubbornly refused to come to Philadelphia and re-acquired another player who never wanted to leave. But to add forward Keith Van Horn and center Todd MacCulloch, the price was steep: They gave up center Dikembe Mutombo.

Philadelphia wanted to improve offensively and were also able to purge a contract that pays the 36-year old Mutombo over $53 million over the next three seasons. The Nets felt the need for a defensive anchor after being shredded by the Lakers? Shaquille O?Neal in the Finals.

Whether either team got exactly what it wanted remains to be seen. At first glance, the Sixers got Van Horn as a projected starting small forward, capable of scoring from the perimeter and contributing on the glass and the sure-handed, steady, stable MacCulloch as a starting center replacement for Mutombo.

"You read what [Iverson] said, that we needed two guys to score with him," Brown said. "Now, is he going to be willing to take 20 shots instead of 30? If he does that, there are going to be a lot of shots around for other people that have the potential to score the ball. We have a point guard [Eric Snow] who does a good job getting other people the ball. It's going to only help Allen to have somebody else you can get the ball to in crucial situations."

Ohm Youngmisuk of the New York Daily News reports that the Nets wanted an all-star big man to play with Jason Kidd. In acquiring Mutombo, they get one of the best defensive centers in the game. With Kidd set to become a free agent after the upcoming season, the Nets made a move with an eye on winning now in hopes of keeping the franchise point guard around for years to come.

?Our feeling is that with the addition of Mutombo we have the potential to be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA," said Nets president Rod Thorn. "A dominating type defender in the middle ... historically that is what you need to scale the heights. From our perspective we feel that Mutombo will be able to do that for us."

The Nets gave up two talented players in Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch, but the Addition of Mutombo makes MacCulloch expendable. The emergence of Richard Jefferson will soften the blow of losing Van Horn.

"This was pretty much a no-brainer," Nets coach Byron Scott said.