Driven by a desire to win an NBA championship, Charles Barkley made his way to the Houston Rockets in 1996 after coming up short with the Phoenix Suns.
Looking to make the team better, “The Round Mound of Rebound” sacrificed $1.2 million in salaries to help the Rockets acquire Scottie Pippen in 1998. However, in no time, tensions between the two Hall of Famers escalated, to the point that Michael Jordan had to get himself involved.
Pippen vs. Barkley
The rift originated from Barkley voicing his disappointment after Houston gave Pippen a five-year, $67.2 million contract, only for the forward to request a trade following their lone season with the Rockets.
In anticipation of an apology, Chuck was taken aback when Pip responded vehemently, expressing his displeasure at the 1993 MVP for making their issue public. Pip adamantly asserted that not only would he refrain from apologizing but that it was Charles who owed him an apology.
“I wouldn’t give Charles Barkley an apology at gunpoint. If anything, he owes me an apology for coming to play with his fat bu*t,” Pippen said.
The Hall of Famer explained that his decision to part ways with the Rockets was due to Barkley’s lack of determination to win. He then used MJ’s words to further solidify his claims.
“I probably should’ve listened to Michael a year ago when he said that Charles will never win a championship because he doesn’t show any dedication,” Scottie added.
MJ tracked down Barkley
Mike was on vacation at the time. However, as soon as he heard of Scottie using his name to hurl insults at Barkley, he reached out to Charles to check how he was coping with the situation.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, “The Chuckster” recounted his discussion with “His Airness” and mentioned how the latter conveyed displeasure at Scottie for bringing his name into their ongoing dispute.
“I don’t know if Michael was madder that Scottie said all that stuff or that he dragged his name into it,” Barkley said. “I told him I was O.K. with it. I knew about Scottie. The whole league knew he was a guy you couldn’t count on. You can fool the media and the fans, but you can’t fool the players. Scottie was exposed long before this.”
The Rockets eventually traded a disgruntled Scottie to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw, and Walt Williams. Meanwhile, Barkley played another season with the Rockets before retiring “ringless” in 2000.
