Pippen Comes to Portland Blazing

Scottie Pippen did some backpedaling Monday, saying he never wanted to be traded to the 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 Blazer employees who were at anews 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 Laker 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.”

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 off-season 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.”

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The Houston Rockets signed Charles Barkley to a one-year contract. Terms were not disclosed. . . . Phoenix Suns general manager Bryan Colangelo was promoted to team president, succeeding his father in a position the senior Colangelo had held since since he bought the team 12 years ago. The 34-year-old Colangelo retains his GM title for the fifth year. . . . The Seattle SuperSonics signed 13-year veteran forward Chuck Person and forward-center Steve Scheffler. . . . The Cleveland Cavaliers signed their second-round draft pick A.J. Bramlett, a 6-foot-10 forward from Arizona.