New York Knicks President and General Manager Scott Layden announced today that the team has signed free agent center Dikembe Mutombo. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

?Adding a shot blocker and rebounder of Dikembe's caliber to our team dramatically improves key areas that we were looking to upgrade," Layden said. ?His basketball resume is so impressive that having the chance to add him to our club was something we were not going to pass up. In addition to his superior skills on the court, Dikembe is a role model that all of young players will look up to and learn from."

?I know Dikembe very well through the years and there is no question he?ll fit right into our system and thrive,? Head Coach Don Chaney said. ?There aren?t many players in NBA history that can change the course of a game as much as he does.?

Mutombo, 7-2, 261-pounds, is the NBA?s sixth all-time shot blocker with 2,873 rejections and is the only player in history to be named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year four-times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001).