Pippen Happy In Portland

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, 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."

The 34-year-old Pippen 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."

he Blazers, who did not have a single championship ring among them before the trade, were impressed by Pippen's comments.

"We feel great about that," forward Brian Grant said. "We know he's not just saying it. We know he really, truly, honestly believes that, so we're going to go out there and try to do everything we can to prove that he's right."

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.

Some of the Blazers grumbled about playing time last season, and Schrempf, for one, has mixed feelings about giving up even more minutes.

"I'd be lying if I said I was cool with it," Schrempf said. "It's going to be a change. (But) I'm not playing for a new contract, I'm not playing for the All-Star team. My goal is to win a championship, and I think we have all the ingredients here."

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