ATLANTA, GA (February 15, 2004) --- Atlanta Hawks General Manager Billy Knight announced today that the club has acquired centers Michael Doleac (from the New York Knicks) and Joel Przybilla (from the Milwaukee Bucks), along with a 2005 second-round pick (from the Knicks), while sending center Nazr Mohammed to the Knicks in the three-way trade. Also as part of the trade, Tim Thomas goes to New York, while Keith Van Horn ends up with the Bucks. The 2005 selection will be the better of the two second-rounders the Knicks currently own.

"Both guys bring unique qualities to our roster," Knight said. "Doleac is a big man who is a skilled perimeter player, while Przybilla is an established shot blocker. It's always difficult to trade guys. Nazr has been a good player for us, has played hard and done a good job. We wish him well and a lot of success in the future. This is what we feel we need to do to go forward."

(Commenting on the two major trades over the last six days): "The things that I'm trying to accomplish are things I think will benefit the organization moving forward. I feel both of the moves will help us rebuild the team the way we envision it."

Doleac, in his sixth NBA season, has played in 46 games in 2003-04, averaging 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds, making .444 FG% and .861 FT%. He was originally selected out of University of Utah by Orlando in the first round (12th overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft, and spent his first three seasons with the Magic, before being traded to Cleveland for the draft rights to Brendan Haywood on June 27, 2001. He subsequently signed with the Knicks as a free agent on August 7, 2002. Over his career, he has averaged 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds (.437 FG%, .798 FT%).

Doleac's full bio is available here.

Przybilla comes to Atlanta after playing his first four NBA seasons with the Bucks, appearing in a total of 141 games, and recording 1.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest. On the year, he has appeared in five games (on the injured list with right knee tendinitis since December 26, 2003), averaging 0.2 points and 2.0 rebounds (1-2 FTs). He was originally picked by the Houston Rockets in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft, then saw his draft rights sent to the Bucks for the rights to Jason Collier and a future first-round pick on June 28, 2000. He entered the draft following his sophomore season at University of Minnesota.

Przybilla's full bio is available here.

Mohammed came to the Hawks on February 22, 2001, along with Theo Ratliff and Toni Kukoc, in a transaction that sent Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod to the Philadelphia 76ers. In his three seasons with the Hawks, Mohammed appeared in 198 games (93 starts) and averaged 8.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest (.467 FG%, .652 FT%). Mohammed was originally selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round (29th overall pick) of the 1998 NBA Draft. He re-signed with the Hawks on July 18, 2001.