MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks signed All-Star forward Anthony Mason to a four-year, $21 million contract Thursday, hoping he'll catapult them to the top of the Eastern Conference.

	Mason

The sides had been working on a deal since the Bucks cleared cap room Monday by trading forward Scott Williams to Denver.

The 34-year-old Mason gives the jump-shooting Bucks a much-needed inside presence they lacked when they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference final last season by the Philadelphia 76ers.

"Anthony brings an added dimension of strength and toughness, both offensively and defensively, to our ballclub," general manager Ernie Grunfeld said. "He's a fierce competitor who knows the game, and knows how to use his size to his advantage."

Coach George Karl was relieved to finally have Mason, who gives the Bucks a fifth offensive threat, joining Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas.

"I think Anthony gives us a true low-post presence that we may have lacked in the past," Karl said. "More importantly, though, is how well he will complement our scorers like Ray, Glenn and Sam and our big guys inside like Ervin (Johnson) and Jason Caffey."

The Bucks engineered a three-team trade Monday night that cleared enough salary cap room for them to sign Mason, whose agent, Don Cronson, said a "substantial" amount of money was deferred.

After working out with the Bucks in the offseason, Mason held out during training camp, waiting for a team to offer a contract he thought was fair.

Mason spent last season with the Miami Heat and was the team's most consistent contributor before Alonzo Mourning returned late in the season from a kidney ailment. The Heat, who cut $20 million in payroll after being swept in the first round of the playoffs, showed no interest in signing Mason to a long-term deal.

To clear enough salary cap space to stay near the estimated luxury tax threshold of $54 million, the Bucks traded away $4.65 million in salary and took on just $1.52 million.

In the three-team trade, Milwaukee sent Williams and a first-round draft choice to Denver for Aleksandar Radojevic and Kevin Willis, then sent Willis to Houston for the Rockets' second-round draft pick in 2002.

In other moves Thursday, the Bucks requested waivers on forward Brian Houston and guard Brian Taylor, putting the roster at 15 players. Houston and Taylor each appeared in two preseason games.

Last season, the Bucks won 52 games to finish first in the Central Division, but their lack of a scoring threat at power forward and center was a considerable weakness.

Mason, who averaged 16.1 points and 9.6 rebounds last season, played just one season in Miami after spending four seasons in Charlotte and five in New York. His strengths are rebounding, ballhandling, scoring and toughness.

"If you listed our top five weaknesses last season, toughness and rebounding would be in there," Karl said.