| | PORTLAND, Ore. -- Scottie Pippen did some backpedaling
Monday, saying he never wanted to be traded to the Los Angeles
Lakers, and calling his new team, the Portland Trail Blazers, the
best he's ever seen.
| |  | |
| Pippen |
Pippen, speaking publicly for the first time since the Houston
Rockets traded him Saturday for six reserves, drew cheers from the
hundreds of Blazers employees who gathered for a news conference
when he talked about bringing a championship to Portland.
"This is a great fit for me," Pippen said. "If I had my
choice, I would probably choose this team because I feel like
they're more on the verge of winning a championship."
Pippen had reportedly wanted to rejoin Lakers coach Phil
Jackson, who led Michael Jordan and Pippen to six NBA titles with
the Chicago Bulls. But Pippen said Monday he did not want out of
Houston, but had his hand forced when he realized the Rockets
didn't have enough desire to win a title.
"I wouldn't exactly say I wanted to be traded, no," he said.
"I wanted to see that we were a team that was trying to win a
championship. That was my main reason for going there, and I felt
like that at some point we sort of gave up on ourselves. We didn't
want to win."
Pippen, 34, was traded for Stacey Augmon, Kelvin
Cato, Walt Williams, Brian Shaw, Ed Gray and Carlos Rogers.
Pippen, who signed a five-year, $67 million contract when he
joined the Rockets last season, will now be the centerpiece on one
of the NBA's most formidable starting lineups.
Pippen said the Blazers, who signed free agent Detlef Schrempf
and acquired Steve Smith in a trade with Atlanta in a busy
offseason after losing to San Antonio in the Western Conference
finals, have the best team he's ever seen -- period.
"This team is far more talented than probably any team that's
been assembled in the league," he said.
When a reporter asked whether Pippen meant just this season, or
ever, the seven-time All-Star smiled and said, "Far as I can
remember. I haven't been around forever."
Pippen had grown frustrated with his lack of scoring
opportunities in Houston, playing in the same frontcourt as Hakeem
Olajuwon and Charles Barkley. Last Wednesday, he made a trade a
virtual certainty when he ripped Barkley in a television interview,
calling him "selfish" and saying Barkley owed him an apology for
coming to play with his "sorry fat butt."
After mulling over his statements for a few days, Pippen at
first tried to laugh off the episode, saying "I forgot what I
said." But he did soften his comments, even if he didn't
apologize.
"I really didn't mean anything personal about Charles," he
said. "I think we've had an off and on relationship over the
years, and I'm sure we'll cross each other's path again, and all
that will be forgotten."
As for his brief stint in Houston, Pippen said, "Things just
didn't work out in Houston for me. To some degree I wasn't the
right fit for that team. I think Portland is a better fit."
Coach Mike Dunleavy said the Blazers should be a contender for
the NBA title, not only this season "but for many years to come."
Pippen averaged just 14.5 points last season but still averaged
40 minutes a game. He said he will gladly settle for fewer minutes
this season, and he'll have to on a team that is jammed with
talent.
"I see Mike having a very tough job trying to get guys minutes
out on the court, but we have to be one happy family, and realize
that the most important thing is about winning," Pippen said. | |
ALSO SEE
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Ratto: All that for a Pippen?
Shippin' Pippen: Rockets send Scottie to Blazers
Barkley says talk is an annoying distraction
Pippen, Barkley exchange verbal jousts
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Scottie Pippen is looking forward to the new challenge.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Pippen is happy to be in Portland.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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