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Giant Multi-team Trade Includes Latrell Sprewell, Keith Van Horn and Glenn Robinson

Atlanta Hawks Director of Basketball Operations and interim General Manager Billy Knight tonight announced that the organization has obtained the contract and services of All-Star guard Terrell Brandon from the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a blockbuster, four-team trade and will send All-Star forward Glenn Robinson to the Philadelphia 76ers. In a related matter involving future draft picks, the Hawks will also get Philadelphia's first round pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and send a second round selection to the Sixers in 2006.

Other parts of the deal include the New York Knicks sending All-Star guard Latrell Sprewell to the Timberwolves, with Minnesota trading center Mark Jackson to Philadelphia, and the Sixers getting forward Keith Van Horn from the Knicks.

Recognizing the need to create future long-term flexibility, the deal provides the franchise with immediate salary cap room to pursue other possibilities, according to Knight.

"We feel strongly that we need to make some fundamental changes to our team and this will enable us to do just that," Knight said. "Whether it's the rest of this summer or next season, we will now have more options than we would've had had we not pursued this opportunity."

As for the trade from the Knicks perspective: "Our goal this off-season is to improve the Knicks for now and into the future by focusing on getting younger and bigger, and acquiring a talented, young veteran like Keith Van Horn is a big part of that strategy," said Knicks general manager Scott Layden. "We think Keith's best years are ahead of him as a New York Knick and expect him to have an immediate impact on our success."

Van Horn, 6-10, 240-pounds, has career averages of 17.7 points and 7.5 rebounds in 388 career games. Last season for the Philadelphia 76ers, the six-year NBA veteran averaged 15.9 points, ranked 32nd in the NBA in rebounding with a 7.1 average and shot 48.2-percent from the floor (21st in NBA). Prior to last season, the Utah-alum spent five seasons in New Jersey, including an appearance in the 2002 NBA Finals. He ranks sixth on the Nets all-time scoring list with 5,700 points.

"We are extremely fortunate to add a player of Keith's caliber to our roster," Head Coach Don Chaney said. "We expect him to work very well within our system - bringing a different dimension to our front-court as both a fine post-up and perimeter player."

Sprewell, 6-5, 195-pounds, finished his Knicks career as the franchise's 19th all-time leading scorer (6,284 points) and ranks sixth on the team's three-point field goals made list (385) in five seasons. Acquired on Jan. 21, 1999 from the Golden State Warriors, the 32-year-old swingman averaged 19.1 points, 4.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 751 games for New York. In 2001, the 11-year NBA veteran represented the Knicks in Washington, D.C. at the NBA All-Star Game as a reserve. Last season, Sprewell averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 74 games (73 starts).

Once considered one of the league's premier point guards, Terrell Brandon missed all of last season and hasn't seen action since his 32-game stint in 2001-02 following surgery to repair a cartilage fracture on the surface of his left femur. It is believed that the injury is career-threatening and could force him to retire.

Originally selected as the 11th overall pick by Cleveland in the first round of 1991 NBA Draft, Brandon spent six seasons with Cavaliers before he was traded to the Timberwolves along with Tyrone Hill to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-way deal in which the Bucks send Sherman Douglas to the Cavaliers, and sent Vin Baker to Seattle for Shawn Kemp prior to the start of the 1997-98 campaign.

Glenn Robinson, a 6-foot-7, 240-pounder, played the 2002-03 season in Atlanta after playing eight years in Milwaukee. A career 46.0 percent shooter from the field, Robinson has averaged 21.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 637 contests. A threat from inside or out, Robinson has scored 20 or more points in eight of his nine seasons, including a career-best 23.4 points per game in 1997-98. Robinson was selected to the All-Star game in 2000 and 2001, and helped Milwaukee to the Playoffs in three-straight years from 1999 to 2001. The Purdue University product was taken by Milwaukee as the first overall pick of the 1994 NBA Draft. Robinson was traded to Atlanta on Aug. 2, 2002, for forward Toni Kukoc, forward Leon Smith and a 2003 first-round draft pick. Last year with the Hawks, he averaged 20.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three-point range in 69 games.

"Glenn did a nice job for us last season as our leading scorer and he is a proven NBA player. We wish him a lot of success in Philadelphia," said Knight.

In addition, the Hawks will also gain the rights to forward Randy Holcomb, a former 2002 second round pick of the San Antonio Spurs, who is currently participating in the Salt Lake City Rocky Mountain Revue as a member of the Sixers' summer league team. He has past professional experience with Wroclaw in the Polish League (2002).

Marc Jackson is a local product who played at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia and two years at Temple University before declaring for the 1997 NBA Draft after his junior season. The 6-foot-10, 270-pounder was selected by Golden State in the second round (38th overall pick), but played one season in Turkey and two in Spain before joining the Warriors for the 2000-01 season and part of the 2001-02 campaign. He was traded to Minnesota on Feb. 21, 2002, for Dean Garrett and a 2007 second-round draft choice. With the Timberwolves last season, Jackson averaged 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds over 77 contests. In his three-year NBA career, Jackson has averages of 7.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 164 games.