Dikembe Mutombo and Rod Strickland are heading east and Harvey Grant is heading home.
And as NBA teams intensified their wheeling and dealing, two big men - Hakeem Olajuwon and Alonzo Mourning - stayed put.Mutombo, a free agent, reportedly signed a five-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks believed to be worth at least $50 million.
"It was time for me to move on with my life," said the 7-foot-2 center, who played all of his five seasons with Denver.
Strickland and Grant were traded by Portland to the Washington Bullets. In return, the Trail Blazers received Rasheed Wallace and Mitchell Butler. For Grant, it was a return to the team where he played his first five seasons.
In a flurry of activity:
- Miami signed forward Juwan Howard to a multiyear contract.
- Atlanta sent swingman Stacey Augmon and forward Grant Long to the Detroit Pistons for two first-round and two second-round draft picks.
- Detroit signed two free agents, guard Michael Curry and center Don Reid, and renounced their rights to forward Lou Roe and centers Mark West and Erick Leckner.
- Houston signed guard Brent Price to a seven-year contract.
- Washington signed free agent forward Tracy Murray.
- Philadelphia renounced its rights to forward Ed Pinckney.
Olajuwon who wants to finish his career in Houston, signed a five-year, $55 million contract extension with the Rockets. The 33-year-old native of Nigeria just finished the first year of a four-year contract that would have given him the opportunity to become a free agent after the 1996-97 season.
"I am very fortunate that I will have the opportunity to play my entire career in a Rockets uniform - a privilege that most players do not have," Olajuwon said. "The Rockets are my family and I am excited to continue to play for the wonderful fans of this city."
The Miami Heat retained Mourning by giving their center a seven-year contract reportedly worth $112 million, making him the first $100 million man in team sports, including $16 million this season.
Mourning was seventh in the league in scoring with a 23.2 average and eighth in rebounding at 10.4.
Mutombo led the NBA in blocks in each of the last three seasons. The three-time All-Star finished third in the NBA in rebounding last season, averaging 11.8. He has averaged 12.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks a game over his career.
"For the 61/2 years that I've been here, we've been working to bring in a legitimate center," Hawks general manager Pete Babcock said after signing Mutombo. "It's an opportunity to bring in an outstanding shot blocker and rebounder.
"So we think this is really a cornerstone for us, doing some things for the future to try to take that next step."
Mutombo's agent, David Falk, reportedly was asking for $12 million to $14 million in average annual salary. The Hawks were said to be offering close to $10 million a year.
After Monday's moves, Atlanta is left without an experienced small forward. That, Hawks president Stan Kasten promised, will be rectified.
"We will be making more moves," Kasten said.
Long, a 6-9 forward, averaged 13.1 points and a career-high 9.6 rebounds last season. Augmon, a 6-8 swingman, averaged 12.7 points and 3.9 rebounds.
Reid, a center, averaged 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds as a rookie. Curry, a guard, averaged 4.6 points.
Strickland, who averaged 18.7 points and 9.6 assists in 67 games, walked out for six games last season, saying he would no longer play for coach P.J. Carlesimo. He returned, however, to help the Blazers reach the playoffs.
Grant returns to the Bullets after playing the last three seasons for Portland. The twin brother of Orlando's Horace Grant averaged 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 76 games for the Blazers. Harvey Grant was drafted by Washington and played his first five seasons with the Bullets.
Wallace, a former North Carolina forward selected fourth overall in the 1995 draft, averaged 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 65 games.
"To get a quality player like that is very, very important," Blazers president and general manager Bob Whitsitt said.
Butler last season averaged 3.9 points as a backup guard.
Murray, 6-foot-7, averaged 16.2 points and 4.4 rebounds as the only Toronto player to appear in all 82 games last season. He ranked 16th in the league in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting .422.
He was a first-round pick of San Antonio in 1992 and previously was involved in trades with Milwaukee and Portland.
The latest NBA spending splurge began on Friday when Michael Jordan agreed to a one-year deal with the Chicago Bulls for $25 million-$30 million.
The New York Knicks went on a spree by spending multi-millions on free agent guards Chris Childs of New Jersey and Allan Houston of Detroit.
Then Juwan Howard and Miami agreed Saturday to a seven-year contract said to be worth $98 million and point guard Gary Payton re-signed with the Seattle SuperSonics for an estimated $85 million spread over seven years.