ROCKETS TRADE THREE FOR MUTOMBO

The Houston Rockets acquired center Dikembe Mutombo from the Chicago Bulls for guards Adrian Griffin, Eric Piatkowski and Mike Wilks.

What does it give the Houston Rockets
A legitimate backup center--and oncourt tutor--for young Yao Ming. Mutombo has declined quickly in the past few years, but as recently as 2001 won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award (his fourth). He runs like he's 90, but he still swats shots and grabs rebounds like a guy half his age. He's good in spurts, which is how Houston will use him. More important is the fact he'll serve as a bodyguard and mentor for the soft-ish Yao, who can learn a thing or two from 'Big Deke' and his finger-wagging ways.

What does it give the Chicago Bulls
Mostly just players they can get rid of for salary-cap space. While it's possible Piatkowski, Griffin and Wilks make the Bulls roster, it's more likely they were matched more for their expendability. Piatkowski is the best of the bunch, but he doesn't play a lot of defense and is mostly a one-dimensional player kept around for his shooting prowess. He could possibly stick as a new version of Bulls eighth-man legend Steve Kerr, but don't expect Griffin and Wilks to be in Chicago for very long.

Fantasy impact