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The Chicago Bulls today acquired 10-year veteran guard/forward Eric Piatkowski, guard/forward Adrian Griffin and guard Mike Wilks from the Houston Rockets in exchange for center Dikembe Mutombo. This trade is conditional to all four players passing their physicals.

“Eric immediately provides our backcourt with some added size and his ability to knock down shots on the perimeter will be an asset for us and will be a nice complement to our inside game,” said Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson. “As for Dikembe, had he remained with us, we were confident that he would have fit his role perfectly. He will do the same for the Rockets and we wish him well.”

“Adrian and Mike are both quality people and players who will play hard and we are hoping they can fill a role for us this season,” Paxson added. “We obviously are crowded in the backcourt and we will work to resolve that issue.”

Piatkowski, 6-6, joins the Bulls after one season in Houston where he played in 49 games and averaged 4.1 ppg and 1.5 rpg in 14.3 mpg. For his career, the 33-year-old swingman has appeared in 665 games and has averaged 8.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 1.1 apg in 20.1 mpg; he also has shot .436 from the field and .399 from long distance during his 10 years in the NBA. In 2001-02, he ranked third in the league in three-point field goal percentage, when he connected on .466 of his shots (111-238 3FG) from behind the arc. Piatkowski was originally drafted by Indiana in the first round (15th overall) of the 1994 NBA Draft out of Nebraska.

Griffin, 6-5, has played with Houston, Dallas and Boston in his five years in the league. Last year with the Rockets, he appeared in 19 games and missed a total of 59 games due to right knee ailments. He has played in 267 games over his career, made 130 starts and averaged 5.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg and 1.10 spg in 19.4 mpg and shot .440 from the field.

Wilks, 5-11, has averaged 2.7 ppg and 1.5 apg in 11.6 mpg in 72 NBA games with the Houston, Minnesota and Atlanta. Last season with the Rockets, he appeared in 26 games and averaged 1.9 ppg.

The Bulls acquired Mutombo in their Aug. 5 trade with the New York Knicks. The 38-year old native of Kinshasa, Zaire played in 65 games last year with the Knicks and averaged 5.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 1.89 bpg (14th in the NBA) in 23.0 mpg. For his career, he has averaged 12.2 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 3.33 bpg and 1.4 apg in 36.0 mpg and shot .520 from the floor.

InsideHoops.com View: Mutombo plays like he's 55 years old, about 20 years younger than he really is. Everyone seems to know that Mutombo is very old on the court except Mutombo. He can provide a few good minutes of defense when Yao Ming sits down, but should not be counted on to be on the floor for long stretches. Eric Piatkowski hits well from outside, so he'll always find a job. Adrian Griffin and Mike Wilks can run around in circles and clap their hands and inbound the ball and do some of this and some of that, or something.