Bill Walton article on Pippen and Barkley

As he prepares for his first meeting with former teammate Charles Barkley on Friday night in Portland, Scottie Pippen must really be feeling pretty smug.

After trashing Barkley as someone who doesn't have what it takes to be a winner, Pippen ditched the doom and disharmony of the Houston Rockets and is now blazing a brilliant, new trail up in Portland, where victories are plentiful and the prospects for his seventh NBA championship ring are very real.

Too bad Pippen's bad attitude is keeping pace with his fabulous career.

For my money, Scottie made a huge mistake and should never have dissed Barkley in public, regardless of whether he intentionally did so in order to escape Houston's stagnant offensive style. A private confrontation with a teammate is one thing. But by all means, keep it out of the papers.

But Pippen chose to go public, and the animus that ensued is currently fueling the media hype surrounding these two All-Stars. Especially now, as Pippen and Barkley get set to clash for the first time since the October 2 trade.

As NBA students (and students of bad behavior) are well aware of by now, Pippen extricated himself from an awful fit with the Rockets by basically engineering a deal, which became a seven-player swap with the Trail Blazers. And, he did so by foolishly dumping all over Sir Charles, Houston's star forward and lightning-rod personality.

Pippen publicly stated that the effort Barkley applied to his physical conditioning was way too little, while simultaneously blasting him that his butt was too big. Worst of all was Pippen's double-barreled assault on Barkley's work ethic and desire to win. By saying Charles "doesn't know what hard work is," Pippen, once again, let his worst side surface.

The six-for-one player trade landing Pippen in Portland's Rose Garden has been nothing but sweet-smelling for the seven-time All-Star. The Blazers are off to a fabulous start and they're winning with unselfish play, generated mostly by six players averaging 10 points or more.

With Pippen not having to carry this revamped and well-stocked team of solid NBA performers -- a squad featuring Steve Smith, Detlef Schrempf, Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace -- he has comfortably slipped in as the Blazers' second-leading scorer behind Smith. While he's not scoring at quite the clip he did with the Bulls, apparently a winning chemistry is now more important to Pippen than being his team's leading scorer.

What's more, Portland is on everyone's list to win as many as 65 games before seriously contending for the NBA title. Compare that to the plight of the rudderless Rockets, who stagger into Portland last in the Midwest Division with no chance of making any noise in the West. I pick the Rockets to finish last in their conference.

Because the showdown is in Portland, and with Houston playing so poorly, it gives a distinct advantage to Pippen. It's unfortunate for Barkley, because, historically, he's one of the game's great warriors, who wants to do everything he possibly can to even the score with Scottie.

Scottie wanted out of Houston because the offensive set employed by coach Rudy Tomjanovich is not one he could thrive in. He's a slashing, cutting, move-without-the-ball type player. That's not the way the Rockets play.

And the other main reason it wasn't going to work for Pippen in Houston is because Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon are past their prime.

Through 13 games leading up to Friday's encounter with the Trail Blazers, Barkley is third best on the Rockets in scoring behind rookie point guard Steve Francis and Olajuwon. He's logging about 31 minutes a game while leading the team in rebounding with over 12 boards a game.

But nobody should be surprised that he's not the dominating force he used to be. Barkley, without a doubt, is a sure-fire Hall of Famer. But there's not much left in his tank, and unfortunately for him, his chances for that elusive championship ring in his 16th NBA season are all but gone.

About the only thing the Rockets have going for them Friday night is that the game is Portland's first at home following a grueling, six-game, eastern road trip. But don't read too much into that since the Blazers, who were only a game over. 500 on the road last season, are faring much better away from home this season.

I was in a situation in 1985 when I was on a bad team -- the Clippers -- that was going nowhere. And I knew I had to go, so I went to management and asked them to trade me. I simply said, "Look, I have to get to a better team. I'm asking you to trade me, and I'll be as cooperative as possible. But if you don't trade me, I'm going to have to say and do whatever's necessary to force a trade."

My trade to the Celtics came down, and we did it all behind closed doors without incident. And it worked out just fine.

However, I was also in a different situation earlier in my career when I left the Trail Blazers in 1979, and I did not handle it well at all. But I learned from experience and moved on.

What's unfortunate in this situation with Barkley is that Pippen continues to have trouble controlling what he says publicly despite having accumulated so much experience dealing with the media throughout his career. You would think that Pippen would have learned by now that those sorts of comments belong behind closed doors.

Now to be fair, when it comes to making outrageous statements to force a trade, Barkley is as guilty as Pippen. At the time of Pippen's mudslinging, Barkley responded by saying Pippen was only doing it to force a trade.

Barkley was right on the money. Why? Because he knows how to play that game, too. I remember when his stay in Phoenix was turning sour. He went on national television during the playoffs and in a live interview he made disparaging remarks about the Suns' personnel and management.

And wouldn't you know, he eventually attracted enough attention to get what he wanted: a trade to a contender, the Houston Rockets.

Friday night's game in Portland doesn't have to be a grudge match. It could be a great opportunity for Pippen, for him to be gracious and dignified in Barkley's presence. It is an opportunity for him to stand up and apologize for his remarks, for all the problems he caused in Houston, and simply say he made a mistake.

All would be forgiven if on Friday night Pippen would just show his respect for Charles Barkley and what the Round Mound of Rebound has given to the game of basketball.

Comments like that are tough to muster, but they should be easy to make for someone like Pippen, a proven star and champion. Let's just hope that Pippen can deliver when it truly counts.