Welcome home: Walker headed back to Boston as Hawks acquire Payton

Walker, who is in his ninth NBA season, returns to the team in which he spent the first seven years of his career. While in Boston, Walker played in three All-Star games (1998, 2002, 2003) and averaged 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest, while leading the club to a pair of playoff appearances.

The 28-year-old Walker was obtained by the Hawks prior to this season in a deal that saw Jason Terry head to Dallas. He is currently averaging 20.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in 53 games this year.

Before his short stint in Atlanta, Walker spent the 2003-04 campaign with the Mavericks where he posted 14.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Originally drafted out of Kentucky with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 draft, Walker was traded to Dallas in 2003 after having a rocky relationship with executive director of player operations Danny Ainge.

Payton was in his first year with Boston after being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason and is averaging 12.1 points and 6.1 assists in 54 games.

The 36-year-old Payton threatened not to play with the club after being obtained in the summer, but eventually arrived and was reportedly in talks for a contract extension. Payton will be a free agent following this season.

Last season, Payton was brought to LA at a reduced rate, in addition to the recently-retired Karl Malone, to try and win their first NBA championship. However, the mission fell just short as the Lakers lost the NBA Finals to Detroit in five games.

Payton, who also had an extremely brief stint in Milwaukee, is in his 15th year, which included spending the first 13 seasons in Seattle. Drafted with the second overall pick in the 1990 draft, Payton is the SuperSonics’ all-time points, assists and steals leader.

"The Glove," who was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1996 and was an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection in eight consecutive seasons (1994-2001), has averaged 17.7 points, 7.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game during his Hall of Fame career.

Payton was also named All-NBA First-Team in 1998 and 2000 and was selected to the NBA All-Star Team on nine occasions. In addition, Payton was a member of the gold medal-winning 1996 and 2000 U.S. Men’s Olympic Teams.

Gugliotta is in his 14th NBA season and has also spent time with Washington, Golden State, Minnesota, Phoenix and Utah. In his career he is averaging 13.2 points and 7.4 boards per contest, but his totals have severely dipped over the last several years as he has battled through various injuries.

The North Carolina State product, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 1992 draft, is posting 1.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in only 20 games this season.

Stewart, who signed as an undrafted free agent with Sacramento, has averaged 2.2 points and 3.2 boards in his career, which also included stops in Toronto and Cleveland.