Scottie Pippen's beef with Charles Barkley is what happens when you don't listen to Michael Jordan

- Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley knew each other for more than a decade. Playoff opponents, all-star teammates, Olympians and public figures. Those years passed for the most part without incident. But as Pippen and Barkley reached their twilight years, they became coworkers. Gone wrong. (piano music) This meat came out on the grill in early 1999 and was seared to a crisp before the year was out. Should we have seen it coming? How did Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley feel about each other in the late '80s and '90s? Let's examine. Before his strange final seasons, Charles Barkley was an MVP-level superstar, capable of leading teams to the playoffs.

But those teams never went all the way, thanks in part to one of Barkley's best friends. Barkley and Michael Jordan were very close at this time. They dated, played golf, and made award-winning movies. Even as opponents in the NBA Finals, Chuck and Mike enjoyed each other's company off the court. But on the court, Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were very cruel to Charles. They always won in the playoffs, against Barkley's Sixers in '90 and '91, and against Barkley's Suns in those 1993 finals. Jordan had people. Above all he had Scottie Pippen, one of the greatest defenders of all time, a scorer with enough talent to lead any other team.

The kind of overqualified side kick that Barkley would have killed for. Hold that thought. Then we have MJ, his best teammate and best friend who was often an opponent. What kind of triangle was this? Was it scalene? Was it, um, another type of triangle? At first, Pippen and Barkley seemed to get along well. They sometimes protected each other and did so with an acceptable level of competitive energy. They played together in All Star games. They traveled the world together as Olympians. And they shared sponsors. Here's a Coca-Cola commercial they did together, albeit one in which Charles throws Scottie against a wall.

The only confrontations visible to the naked eye were of the ordinary macho variety, like all those fights and trash talk that changed during the '93 All-Star Game, which to Magic Johnson smacked of a June preview. - That's just so Pippen knows that if we make it to the final, you make it to the final, this is

what

you're going to get. (laughs) - Barkley and Pippen laughed at that All Star battle, although Scottie did not want to repeat

what

was said. But Magic was right: Scottie and Charles met a lot in the '93 finals and had their moments.

Scottie dove on Charles. Charles talked shit. Scottie came out with a ring. Pretty regular stuff. Healthy conflict at the basketball level. Any real intrigue came later, like

when

Roland Lazenby wrote about Pippen berating Barkley for kissing a finals opponent's butt. So it's nothing, but far from purebred

beef

. Later that year, Jordan retired for the first time. The Bulls became Scottie's team. After a season and a half leading the way, Scottie had had enough. By early 1995 it was well known that Pippen wanted to be traded and that the Suns, Barkley's Suns, were interested. Speaking at the 1995 All Star Weekend in Phoenix, Pippen seemed fine with the idea of ​​staying in that city long-term. - We heard the Suns' Jerry Colangelo add some fuel to those rumors earlier by saying "yeah, he'd like to have Scottie Pippen." It would be pretty easy to stay in this city, wouldn't it? - Yes, it would be. - Barkley was even more enthusiastic and dropped another name that will be relevant. -Anyone in their right mind would love to play with Scottie Pippen.

He is the best non-center basketball player in the world today, apart from Hakeem Olajuwon, he is the best player in the world. - But the exchange was not in Pippen's destiny. He remained a Bull until the deadline, much to his dismay. Then Jordan returned a month later and this side of the triangle won three more championships. The non-trade was one of several times the Bulls retained a grumpy Scottie. And that worked out well for both parties. Barkley wanted what the Bulls had. In 1996 he demanded a trade and got it with the Houston Rockets, where he joined one of the players he most admired, Hakeem Olajuwon.

Those Rockets teams were good, but the core players were aging, often injured, and occasionally at odds. The Stockton/Malone Jazz eliminated Houston from consecutive postseasons, earning the opportunity to see Mike and Scottie win rings five and six. After the 1998 championship, the NBA suffered a lockout. Just as the league reopened in January 1999, Jordan retired again. It was time for the Bulls to start over. And they weren't going to do that by handing Pippen, 33, a big new contract. Instead, Scottie went to Houston in a sign-and-trade, agreeing to a contract worth $67 million over five years. A lot of money, not the kind of money Houston could pay him without making room under the salary cap.

To make said room, Barkley agreed to a one-year contract worth $1 million. Maybe half of what he could have earned. Everyone enjoyed a former MVP making less salary than, say, Matt Bullard. But Barkley was very understanding of the pay cut and welcomed Scottie. Charles really wanted a ring and Scottie appreciated it. -I think the fact that Charles really campaigned to bring me here really showed me that he wants to win a championship. - Very sweet, but don't forget it. - I said 60 million dollars. - The so-called super friends, a frontline hall of famer, sounded ready for action, although ready is a relative term.

Barkley had spent the work stoppage recovering from two injuries, surgery on a torn triceps he had suffered in the 1998 playoffs, as well as chronic hernias. That's a lot of rehab for a guy whose work ethic people often doubted, including Michael. -Charles Barkley, I told him that he would never win because he is not dedicated to winning. -Jordan found time in his damn retirement press conference to call one of his best friends lazy, incredible. And in character, Barkley arrived a couple of days late to the Rockets' training camp because he had spent the weekend playing golf with Michael.

Pippen, who was coming off back surgery, took note of that and said he would sit down with Charles to talk about the dedication needed to achieve it. A relationship that once depended on this boy was becoming much more intimate. At first everything went well. The super friends had a lot of fun playing together in the short preseason. Despite golf, Charles was in shape. In fact, for once he had spent the offseason conditioning himself, forced by the criticism to reflect and motivate himself. Barkley was even working with Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover, who followed Pippen to Houston. Barkley missed a couple weeks in February after another surgery, but still looked positive.

The team was more cohesive with Pippen. Everyone was working towards the same goal. Pippen didn't necessarily agree. In Phil Jackson's triangle offense, he had been the second scorer and the best option in the attacking zone. It was difficult to adjust to Houston's system, where he was a third option behind two dominant inside presences. These quotes immediately after Barkley's knee surgery reveal a faint meaty aroma. In a reporter's ear, Charles joked that Scottie should lend him $10 million. Scottie told the same reporter that he was more surprised by Houston's offense than he was used to. And that was without Barkley taking away his touches.

By March, Charles had returned and Pippen actually expressed his displeasure with him. Scottie didn't feel involved. He wasn't having fun. He didn't understand why the Rockets wanted him. He also fully understood that complaining caused problems for his team. Trainer Rudy Tomjanovich tried to accommodate Pippen, but it was difficult as the former superstar was putting up some of the worst numbers of his career. Pippen also encountered some problems off the court. He was arrested in April for driving while intoxicated. And here I'll point out the reaction of Charles calling Scottie a role model and mocking him over the team plane's public address system.

Strange times. Two weeks later, the Rockets headed to Los Angeles for a first-round playoff series against the Lakers. The first game presented the Rockets with their best opportunity to take advantage and steal the series, but they failed at the decisive moment. Olajuwon missed what could have been the dagger, and on the rebound Barkley grabbed Shaquille Oneal, a famously bad free throw shooter. In fact, Shaq missed one of two, preserving Houston's lead. But on the next play, Pippen fumbled trying to beat Kobe Bryant off the dribble. Kobe ended up winning it with two decisive free throws. Scottie saved his postgame heartbreak from Barkley's intentional foul on Shaq.

Charles did not want to enter into battle, but he defended his decision. He watched as Houston had the lead and the ball until Scottie handed it over. In any case, LA won two of the next three games and won the series. The first season of Super Friends had ended and the friends weren't feeling so good. Barkley was leaning toward retirement, although he had said so before. Pippen called the season in Houston a challenge, a disappointment. So what's next? Barkley hoped the team would find a point guard since they barely had one. And he hoped they could add more youth and athleticism to take some of the weight off Pippen.

But Pippen's mind was elsewhere. As soon as the Lakers hired Scottie's old coach, Phil Jackson, they began contacting Houston for a meeting. Pippen liked the idea of ​​reuniting with Phil and, in mid-August, he requested a trade with Los Angeles. Pippen's agent described his client as frustrated, unwilling to endure another year in an offense where one of the best players in the world was relegated to throwing inbound passes. At the time those dates went out, Barkley and Pippen were together in Hawaii for a big golf outing, yet Charles said he didn't hear a word from Scottie about any business demands.

He found out from the news. Charles told Scottie that he was disappointed in him. He told the Houston Chronicle that Scottie should apologize to the fans, the team and Charles himself. Be a man. And it went further. He felt Scottie was looking for another no-lose situation like Chicago, where winning would be a credit to his leadership and losing would be someone else's fault. Barkley said he had heard the Lakers didn't even want Pippen. He called Pippen a baby, but he made it clear that Houston wanted and needed that baby back on the team. Even with that uncertainty looming, Charles planned to sign a new contract with Houston.

One year, 9 million dollars. That was compensation for the Pippen-friendly cut he had accepted the previous year, although Charles now says he fell short of what he had been promised. He responded accordingly. Pippen and Barkley traveled to Europe and actually played together in a Nike-sponsored all-star game against Barcelona. The team chemistry didn't sound very good in that environment either. But in August Pippen didn't say much beyond that he hoped to become a Laker. At the end of September Scottie came in. Pippen was still a Rocket, but he burned that bridge anyway. He mocked Barkley's demands to apologize and uttered some expletives. -In any case, he owes me an apology for coming to play with his pitiful fat ass. - After a very close season, Pippen completely agreed with Jordan's diagnosis of Barkley. -He doesn't show me the desire to want to win, and I probably should have

listen

ed to Michael a year ago

when

he said that Charles will never win a championship because he doesn't show any dedication. - This was the war.

The Rockets did not want war. If they had any doubts about trading Pippen, they were now forced to do so. They had to make a deal before training camp, and they did, sending Pippen not to Los Angeles, but to Portland in exchange for most of the Blazers' bench. Then Rockets camp opened without any distractions. It was the dawn of a new era. But of course, reporters asked Charles about the Pippen interview. He responded with his usual mix of criticism and humor. He did not like to be publicly criticized. -I think he crossed the line too. There are some guys that, like I said, I played with that I didn't like, but I would never express that opinion about them publicly. - And if Scottie was just going to apologize at gunpoint, Charles was happy to do it. -Well, he said he would never apologize. - Not even at gunpoint. - But as you know I always carry a gun with me. (laughs) So if I get arrested for murder, everyone will know that he didn't apologize at gunpoint. (laughs) - Barkley implied that it was insecurity that caused Pippen to break an unwritten rule by attacking a teammate.

Now that they were separated, Charles said he was excited to prove Scottie wrong. From the Blazer camp, Pippen said oh hey whenI called Charles fat and said he wasn't dedicated to winning, I didn't mean it personally. He predicted that all of this would be forgotten when the two met again. But as for apologizing to Charles. - Is it still valid that Barkley would not receive an apology from you, even at gunpoint, as you said last week? - No, I don't owe Charles an apology and I don't really want to apologize. -So Pippen wasn't going to talk to his former teammate, but he kept talking about him.

Scottie said he received criticism from the media because journalists loved Barkley. Pippen said Barkley made too much of the pay cut, that he hadn't forced Barkley to do that, and well, that's what

happens

when only one team wants to sign you. Pippen claimed that he only ended up with the Rockets because post-lockout free agency was so rushed. The war of words got people excited for a late November showdown between the Blazers and the struggling Rockets, but just as Scottie predicted, nothing came of it. No confrontation, no recognition, no exchange of words. Pippen said it was all behind him.

Barkley said the same thing in his own way. A few days later, "Sports Illustrated" published an article with some late takes. Pippen said Barkley was a hypocrite for complaining about his public attacks. He said Barkley was lying about Pippen's silence during the Hawaii golf outing, with Jason Kidd as a witness. Barkley blamed Pippen for not living up to his big contract and said he stuck with him through all the negativity. Pippen recalled what Jordan had said at the press conference, and his wife, Larsa, put it bluntly. "Scottie didn't let the Rockets down, "the pitiful Rockets didn't want to work hard." But the feud was over.

A ruptured quadriceps tendon the same month permanently ended Barkley's championship quest. Scottie and Charles would never share each other again. a basketball. Pippen conveyed his sympathy, but he wasn't quite sure how to offer his direct condolences. Should he just send a plant? He figured Charles didn't want a call from him. He praised Barkley in his own way. I would miss beating him. That tone reads like the old relationship between Pippen and Barkley from the Jordan era. Less direct insults, more respect and dislike That's how things have been since then. They were in the same Hall of Fame class. to Dirk Nowitzki together.

They did commercials together like this one from Footlocker where they share the punchline: All I know is that all the greats have a short memory - And I'm the best Chicago Bull of all time. - These are mostly television personalities whose shifts in the news cycle occasionally overlap. Sometimes they talk about each other, sometimes even kindly. - We all know that Charles has a great personality. - Barkley's relationship with Jordan has faltered at times, with Pippen involved in some of the public teasing. But with or without Michael as intermediary, the relationship between the two seems to have settled into its natural state.

As acquaintances, associates, and even rivals, these guys do well. But in 1999, strange forces combined to place Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen in the same orbit. Just those months of shared space and mutual goals were enough to ignite a rather unpleasant conflict. So maybe don't put two people like that on the same team, it's a bad idea.