Pippen v Barkley.

[opi@unesco.org]

Here's the Houston Chronicle's account of the latest Pippen whining
incident, this time about Barkley being "very selfish" and having a "fat
butt". The article illustrates that team talent is much more common than
team chemistry. Judging by what's written, it sounds like Pip will be
heading to the land of Paul M. and Greg Ode in exchange for Kelvin Cato
and Walt Williams rather than to the Lakers for Horry and Rice.

As for the rising division threat Philly, it seems the Cream Cheesers
may not trade deluxe rebounder Tyrone Hill prior to training camp, even
if his role will be reduced with both Matt Geiger and Theo Ratliff on
the club. Larry Brown reportedly rejected a Dallas offer involving Ansu
Sesay ("it ain't so"), Robert Pack and Hot Rod Williams.

I'd like to see Philly and Boston back at the top of the conference
tables next year with Miami. Those are the old school
crash-the-boards-and-intimidate-style Eastern teams, and there is
nothing like a Philly-Boston or Pat Riley-Boston rivalry to get Fleet
Center fans to actually cheer for our home team players when they are
down (what a concept).

The Pippi-Barkley divorce transcript is posted below.

Joe

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Pippen to get ticket out of town
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 1999 Houston Chronicle

The Rockets' impending divorce from Scottie Pippen grew ugly and near
completion Wednesday when the team moved close to a deal to ship Pippen
to Portland and the disgruntled forward blistered Charles Barkley in a
televised interview.

Pippen said Wednesday there was "no reason to spend three or four years"
with a team that would have Barkley, and that he wanted "to get away
from playing with" Barkley, whom he had called a close friend last
season.

But even before Pippen's comments were made public, the Rockets were
already working on a trade that would move him less than eight months
after he had been acquired to be a key part of their future.

In exchange for Pippen, the Trail Blazers would send the Rockets six
players, at least half of whom would be included only for salary-cap
reasons. None could be considered a replacement superstar.

 The Rockets would receive forward Walt Williams, center Kelvin Cato,
forward Stacey Augmon, forward/center Carlos Rogers, forward Ed Gray and
guard Brian Shaw, according to several sources who spoke on the
condition of anonymity.

 The trade would give the Rockets 19 players, four more than they could
on the roster (including players on the injured list) when the season
begins Nov. 2. But the Rockets would have to take on the extra contracts
to balance the $14.75 million of cap space (in salary and incentives
likely to be earned) taken by Pippen's contract.

The trade will not be completed until Saturday at the earliest,
according to a source close to the discussions. The Rockets' training
camp will begin Tuesday in Austin.
(....)
Pippen had requested a trade to the Lakers to be reunited with his Bulls
coach, Phil Jackson. Though Jackson remains a staunch supporter of
Pippen  and has argued that he could help ease LA's transition to the
triangle offense, the Lakers have opted to try to make their current mix
work rather than offer a package that would include Glen Rice and Robert
Horry.

 Barkley told the Chronicle last month and ESPN on Tuesday that Pippen
owed him an apology for asking to be traded less than a year after they
jointly decided to sign with the Rockets.

  "Every day before he signed," Barkley said, "Scottie was calling me
and  asking me if I was going to be (in Houston). He said he wasn't
coming if I  wasn't staying. I gave him my word, and that's why I signed
for what I did ($1 million for one year) when I did.

"Man, it threw me for a loop," Barkley said of the trade request. "I
almost fell out of my chair. I felt very frustrated ... very betrayed.

 "I found Scottie the next morning and told him how disappointed I was
in him. It really rubs me wrong that he'd try to bail out on the team
after one season. It's unbelievable to me."

 Barkley said in August that Pippen could repair the damage caused by
his trade request.

"First, Scottie owes the Rockets' fans an apology," Barkley said.
"They've  been terrific to him. Second, he owes the Rockets an apology.
And third, he owes me an apology.

 "Scottie needs to stand up and be a man. If he does, we can move on.
Everything will be fine."

In an ESPN interview Wednesday, Pippen offered a stinging rejoinder.

 "I wouldn't give Charles Barkley an apology at gunpoint," Pippen said.
"He  can never expect an apology from me. ... If anything, he owes me an
apology  for coming to play with his fat butt."

Although Barkley had defended Pippen's play in Tuesday's interview,
contending Pippen was overtaxed by ball-handling responsibilities that
would now go to rookie Steve Francis, Pippen said he was the one who
should be disappointed.

 "He's a very selfish guy," Pippen said of Barkley. "He doesn't show the
desire to want to win. That's my reason for wanting to get away from
playing with him anymore -- because he just doesn't show the dedication.

  "I probably should've listened to Michael (Jordan) a year ago when he
said  that Charles will never win a championship because he doesn't show
any dedication."

Barkley averaged 16.1 points (making 48.3 percent of his shots), 12.3
rebounds (second in the NBA) and 4.5 assists last season.

Pippen averaged 14.5 points per game, his lowest average since his
rookie season in 1987-88, and made a career-low 43.2 percent of his
shots. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists and was named to
the NBA's All-Defensive first team.

 "Charles is definitely one of the guys that needs to show more
leadership for this ballclub to be successful, and he don't show that to
me," Pippen told ESPN. "He feels that if he gets 10 rebounds and
double-figure points, he's done a good job. But that's not what the
game's about. It's about defending, being professional and coming to
work every day.

 "I was very shocked to see what type of player he was by spending half
a season with him. ... I'm a guy that's dedicated to winning, and I put
out a lot of  effort on the court. I expect that from my teammates,
especially from a guy of  his caliber.

"You know he's not willing to go the distance. There's no reason for me
to put my last three or four years at risk of never winning."

Pippen complained throughout last season about his role and said
Wednesday he would like to play for Jackson in the triangle offense.

"I would like to play for Phil," Pippen said. "(But) I'm not demanding a
trade."

But with his scorched-earth, bridge-burning comments, Pippen could have
assured a trade -- if one were not already in the works.