In a swap that must undoubtedly have made the "everyone must go" Orlando Magic green with envy, the Portland Trailblazers acquired forward/malcontent Scottie Pippen from the Houston Rockets in exchange for six players.
On the one hand, Portland now has a very good starting five.
On the other, Houston's pipeline of fresh bodies continues, following the acquisitions of Steve Francis and Shandon Anderson.
NBA experts have begun to discuss both teams as contenders for the championship. And while such predictions are not necessarily reliable - we won't mention last year's prediction that the New Jersey Nets would reach the Finals - I think this trade is a mistake on both ends.
Why? Let me count the ways ...
First off, at 34, Pippen only has a few good years left. While Pippen did adjust to Houston's ponderous low-post offense that limited his overall numbers, some have argued he may have lost a step or two. Although Portland president and general manager Bob Whitsitt says the 'Blazers really don't care if Pippen returns to his previous form, if his numbers go down even more or Pippen's foot problems return, this could go down as one of the biggest front office blunders in NBA history.
Second, Pippen's bloated contract - $14.8 million this season - made his price just too high. Kelvin Cato won't be joining Pippen on the list of all-time greats in the NBA. Neither will Stacy Augmon, Walt Williams, Ed Gray, Brian Shaw or Carlos Rogers. But having to trade one overpriced All-Star for six capable reserves borders on lunacy.
One thing I liked about last year's Portland squad was their team-oriented approach. Head coach Mike Dunleavy was not averse to going 10- or 11-deep in a game. One night someone might play 40 minutes, the next he'd play 10.
Starting point guard Damon Stoudamire often sat for the entire fourth quarter in lieu of former journeyman Greg Anthony.
Sure Stoudamire started to gripe toward the end of the season, but Portland's method meant that the team's focus wasn't on just one player.
Shut down Stoudamire, and Isaiah Rider, Anthony or Williams would step up. Hit Brian Grant with three quick fouls, and Rasheed Wallace or Arvydas Sabonis would take his place.
The 'Blazers were interchangeable, they were united and they were very good. They also knocked the Utah Jazz out of the playoffs, something no Western Conference team had done since 1996 - a testament to Portland's talent.
But last year's "no-I-in-team" approach seems to have been a one-year experiment.
The change probably came after the 'Blazers lost to the Spurs' two-headed monster of Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the Western Conference Finals.
Led by their well-to-do twin towers, the Spurs beat Portland easily. Now, with Pippen joining Stoudamire, the vastly underrated Sabonis and the recently acquired Steve Smith, Portland has several legitimate All-Stars.
But maybe someone should tell Whitsitt that the Spurs not only finished first last year, but also firmly in the red.
Regardless, the deal's as bad for Houston too. Rudy Tomjanovich's dependence on Hakeem Olajuwon and the corpulent megaphone otherwise known as Charles Barkley to provide the lion's share of his offense, combined with the need to show that the trade for Steve Francis was not a mistake, will force Augmon, Cato and the rest into a "Sports Illustrated" type of role - they'll show up about once a week.
Perhaps I'm wrong. Or maybe I wanted to see Pippen and Barkley go round and round for a whole season in Houston.
But when the 1999-2000 NBA season is all said and done, don't be surprised if both the Rockets and Trailblazers are in the same exact place - watching the NBA Finals on TV.
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