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Atlanta gives: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff, Dan Dickau. Portland gives: Rasheed Wallace, Wesley Person

Atlanta Hawks General Manager Billy Knight announced Monday night that the club has obtained the services of forward/center Rasheed Wallace and guard Wesley Person from the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, center Theo Ratliff and guard Dan Dickau.

"(Involving) Shareef is such a tough deal because he's such a good guy, he is everything you want in a player," said Knight. "Unfortunately in the situation we're in, we are financially strapped. This provides us some immediate flexibility at the end of the season, so what we've done is accelerate our rebuilding process.

"We haven't won the games we should have and when you couple that with the high payroll we would have had next season, it (the deal) gives us the ability to begin our rebuilding process. I can't emphasize enough how tough this trade was for me personally, especially with Shareef.

"It's a tough situation, he's the player making the most money and he's the player everybody wants. He's our best player and I have to do what's best for the organization, and that supercedes what's best for me."

A nine-year veteran and two-time All-Star, the 6-11 Wallace has averaged 17.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 blocks thru 45 games, while shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 34.1 of his shots from three-point distance and 74 percent from the charity stripe. Among NBA leaders, he currently ranks 35th in scoring, 41st in rebounding, 23rd in blocks and 31st in minutes played.

An original first round pick of the Washington Wizards (fourth overall) in the 1994 NBA Draft, the former North Carolina star was traded along with Mitchell Butler to the Trail Blazers for Rod Strickland and Harvey Grant. In seven-plus seasons in Portland, Wallace finished among the Blazers' top ten all-time leaders in 14 statistical categories. He represented the Blazers in two All-Star games, in 2000 and 2001.

Wallace, who entered the NBA after his sophomore season with the Tar Heels, brings career averages of 16.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.9 apg and 1.2 bpg to the Hawks. A second-team All-Rookie pick in 1996, he has played in 23 playoff games. In his last meeting against Atlanta (January 29), Wallace had 20 points on 9-18 FGs.

Person, a 6-6 guard-forward from Auburn, is in his 11th pro season and has averaged 11.5 points and 3.4 rebounds, along with making 45.7 FGs, 41.6 percent from three-point range and 75.8 from the FT line. Atlanta becomes his fifth NBA team, and in 49 games this season he has totaled 6.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg and 1.2 apg (.411 FG%, .395 3FG% and .758 FT%).

Selected by Phoenix in the first round (23rd overall) of the 1994 Draft, Person was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a first round pick three years later (1997) and following five seasons with the Cavs, he was sent to Memphis in June 2002 before joining Portland on December 3, 2003 for Bonzi Wells.

"Obviously this was a decision made for the good of the franchise," said Hawks coach Terry Stotts. "We have 30 games left in the season and we're adding two very talented players to our team. From a coaching standpoint, we need to integrate Wesley and Rasheed quickly into what we're doing here and we won't be able to begin that process until next week when the players return from the All-Star break.

"I think we'll try to maintain the same level of competitiveness we've had since our West Coast trip. We just need to compete. Rasheed is a very talented player and Wesley is one of the best shooters in the league. We are 5½ games out of the playoff race and we're still going to be competitive. I want to echo Billy's sentiments that this was very difficult to do. From an organizational standpoint, we could keep going along the way we were, or we could try to do something about it.

"I think this is a great opportunity for Rasheed. I think he can come into a team for 30 games and make a difference. He's going to be a free agent, so he not only has an opportunity to help us but help himself too. It's a new start...a fresh start"

An ultimate professional on-and-off the court, Atlanta native Abdur-Rahim ended his career in red and white with 27 points and 10 rebounds in a 102-96 upset of the Dallas Mavericks. It was his team-leading 26th double-double of the season, which ranks him eighth in the league. In addition he was 17th in scoring (20.0 ppg), tied for 14th in rebounding (9.3 rpg), 16th in field goal shooting (.485) and ninth in FTs (.882) entering Monday night's action. He led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding averages and was the NBA's 11th-best player in efficiency rating.

Abdur-Rahim takes a 20.7 career point average to the Trail Blazers and the eight-year pro has also grabbed 8.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He made the All-Star team in 2002 and in 2000, represented the United States in the Sydney, Australia Summer Olympics.

The reigning NBA shot block champion, Ratliff finished his Hawks career with eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots against the Mavericks. Prior to Monday's game, he was averaging 8.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 3.1 blks, while hitting .458 FGs and .662 FTs. An All-Star in 2001, Ratliff was unable to play in the game because of injury.

Dickau returns to his native Northwest and the former Gonzaga star played in 23 games in 2003-04 with averages of 2.1 ppg and 0.8 apg. He played seven minutes in his final game with the Hawks, scoring two points and dishing out one assist.