PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia 76ers took their best shot at the Los Angeles Lakers with Dikembe Mutombo. Now the New Jersey Nets will try to do the same thing.

In a huge deal, the 76ers on Tuesday traded the 7-2 Mutombo to the Nets for forward Keith Van Horn and center Todd MacCulloch.

"This is something that wasn't easy, but it is something we felt we needed to do," 76ers general manager Billy King said.

A four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Mutombo was acquired by the 76ers at the 2001 trading deadline. He helped carry them to the NBA Finals, where he squared off against Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers.

Mutombo did as well as anyone could against the game's best player, averaging 16.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while matched up against O'Neal as the Sixers lost in five games.

The Nets supplanted the Sixers as Eastern Conference champions and also encountered the Lakers in the Finals. MacCulloch was unable to slow O'Neal, who averaged 36.3 points and demoralized every defense thrown at him.

The Nets felt they needed another star to complement All-Star point guard Jason Kidd, who can be a free agent at the end of the 2002-03 season. They may have gotten one in Mutombo, although they will pay a pretty penny for him.

"In bringing Dikembe to New Jersey, we have added a perennial All-Star to our roster," Nets president Rod Thorn said. "He is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year who is one of the leading rebounders and shot-blockers in the NBA."

Last summer, Mutombo, 36, signed a four-year, $68 million contract. He becomes New Jersey's highest-paid player and is signed through the 2004-05 season, an issue in the luxury tax era.

Van Horn is entering the third year of a six-year, $73 million extension. MacCulloch just completed the first year of a six-year, $34 million deal. It will be somewhat of a homecoming for both of them.

The 6-10 Van Horn, 26, averaged a career-low 14.8 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game last season, his fifth in the NBA. In the postseason, he averaged 13.3 points on 40 percent shooting and drew thinly veiled criticism from teammate Kenyon Martin for not bringing his best game during the Finals.

In his career, Van Horn has averaged 18.2 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting just under 35 percent from 3-point range in 314 games. He was selected second overall by Philadelphia in the 1997 draft but was sent to New Jersey in an eight-player deal.

"Keith gives us a big forward that can play the 3 and 4 as well as give us some offense," King said. "He's a guy who can shoot the ball from outside and is very versatile."

The 7-foot MacCulloch, 26, has played in Philadelphia. He spent his first two seasons with the Sixers, averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds as a backup before signing as a free agent with the Nets, who gave him a chance to start.

"His one-year sabbatical in New Jersey is over," King joked.

The Canadian averaged 9.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.44 blocked shots while shooting 53 percent. He likely will start at center for the Sixers, who have added offense at the expense of defense.

The Sixers rely heavily on NBA scoring champion Allen Iverson and do not have a good perimeter shooting team. Van Horn gives them a second scoring option and MacCulloch has good hands, allowing him to finish plays around the basket.

The Sixers also have signed free agents Monty Williams and Greg Buckner, deepening a bench that was suspect last season.

"I think we have added a number of players that certainly are going to make us better," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "To be perfectly honest, I don't think our bench was nearly as good as we needed it to be."

Meanwhile, the Nets have boosted their defense, perhaps at the expense of offense. They made the Finals despite not having anyone average 15 points per game and likely will start Richard Jefferson alongside Martin at forward.

An eight-time All-Star in his 11-year career, Mutombo joins his fourth team. He averaged 11.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.38 blocks in 80 games last season, finishing sixth in the league in rebounding and fifth in blocks.

Mutombo was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. He led the NBA in blocks per game from 1994-96 and in rebounds in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

A deliberate offensive player, Mutombo's ability to rebound and block shots should help the Nets, who use Kidd to run their fast break and accelerate the tempo at all times.