The Mavericks traded Antoine Walker and Tony Delk to the Hawks on Wednesday for Jason Terry, Alan Henderson and a first-round draft pick.
While Atlanta general manager Billy Knight thinks the deal is a small step in the process of overhauling his roster, Dallas might have filled its most pressing need.
"We don't have enough big people, we don't have enough guards, we don't have enough shooting, we don't have enough rebounding, we don't have enough defense, we don't have enough shot-blocking," Knight said. "We don't have all of those things. Other than that we have everything we need."
Asked when the Hawks — 28-54 last season — can be competitive, Knight said: "I really don't know. We're not finished doing anything yet."
Terry, the Hawks' first-round pick in the 1999 NBA draft, averaged 16.8 points and 5.4 assists last season but is more of a combo guard than a pure point guard. Last summer, he signed with the Jazz as a restricted free agent, but the Hawks matched the offer.
The Mavericks needed a point guard after losing Steve Nash to free agency, and they see Terry as a scorer who has flourished in coach Don Nelson's system.
The Hawks see Walker as a crucial piece in their rebuilding efforts.
The 6-foot-9 Walker can play either forward position. Walker has averaged 19.9 points in his career, including 14 points with 8.3 rebounds last season.
Like Terry, the 6-2 Delk can score from the point guard position but is too small for a full-time role at shooting guard. Delk averaged 6 points while playing only 15.4 minutes per game for Dallas last season.
With the trade, the Hawks will have a new starting backcourt. They traded shooting guard Stephen Jackson to the Indiana Pacers for forward Al Harrington last month.
Knight and new coach Mike Woodson met with free agent center Erick Dampier in Utah last month. The team also has re-signed center Jason Collier.
In about 15 months, Knight has almost completely turned over the roster he inherited from Pete Babcock.
Knight was hired to replace Babcock on April 2, 2003. With the exits of Terry and Henderson, forward Chris Crawford would be the only remaining player from the Babcock era.
The Mavericks need Terry as a replacement for Steve Nash, who signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns.
The financial implications may weigh slightly in Atlanta's favor. Both Henderson and Walker are entering the last year of contracts, but the trade frees Atlanta of the last two years of a three-year, $24 million contract Terry signed last year.
When healthy, the 6-9 Henderson provided depth at center and power forward, but he has battled injuries much of his nine-year career. A knee injury limited Henderson to six games last season.
"Alan has had some recent injury problems but certainly he's a class guys and he's feeling completely up to speed and ready to play, he says," Knight said. "He's been working out every day and playing ball and finished his rehab and is back in good form."
Dallas coach Don Nelson was on vacation in Maui. A Mavericks official said Nelson's son, president of basketball operations Donn Nelson, was out of town on business.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban did not immediately return an e-mail request for a comment on the trade.
PISTONS DEAL WILLIAMSON: The Detroit Pistons acquired Derrick Coleman and Amal McCaskill from the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade Wednesday for Corliss Williamson. Essentially, Philadelphia got rid of a player it didn't want, and NBA champion Detroit picked up considerable salary-cap space for the future.
"We feel like this is a good trade for our team and our organization as we move forward," said Joe Dumars, Pistons president of basketball operations. "Corliss Williamson was a very special guy to have on the team for 3 1/2 seasons. We thank him for all of his efforts here on and off the court and we will miss him."
The 76ers made it clear they wanted to deal Coleman, who has two years and $9.5 million on his contract. If the Pistons want to release him after one season, they will owe him $2 million. By moving Williamson, with $18 million and three guaranteed years left on his deal, the Pistons will have more money to make moves in a year or two. McCaskill was a free agent, who signed a new contract before being traded.
The 37-year-old Coleman played in just 34 games last season while he struggled to stay healthy. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.
In other Pistons news, Horace Jenkins signed with the NBA champions Wednesday. Jenkins, a 6-foot-1 point guard, played on the Pistons' summer league team and averaged 8.2 points and 2.8 assists in five games.
WIZARDS SIGN WALKER: The Washington Wizards signed free agent forward Samaki Walker on Wednesday. Walker has played with Dallas, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami over an eight-year career. He has played in 48 playoff games and won an NBA title with the Lakers in 2002. In his eight-year NBA career, Walker is averaging 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds. His best season came with Dallas in 1997-98, when he averaged 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds.
T-WOLVES KEEP HASSELL:Trenton Hassell will remain with Minnesota after the Timberwolves matched the Portland Trail Blazers' offer for the restricted free agent Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not announced, but Hassell's agent, Mark Bartelstein, has said the Blazers' offer was worth $27 million over six years. Hassell, one of the club's top defenders, started 74 games for Minnesota last season after two seasons with the Chicago Bulls, who picked him in the second round of the 2001 draft. Defense is his specialty; he averaged 5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
MASSENBURG JOINS SPURS: The San Antonio Spurs signed veteran forward and former Jazz player Tony Massenburg and re-signed forward Sean Marks. Massenburg played for the Sacramento Kings last year, averaging 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 59 games. He has played for a dozen NBA teams in as many years, averaging 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds.