Tuesday, August 20, 1996

Houston Rockets hope Charles Barkley adds up to Championship

By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press

HOUSTON - Subtract four players from Houston, add Charles Barkley from the Phoenix Suns and the Rockets hope that equals NBA title No. 3 this decade.

Barkley, 33, comes to Houston in a blockbuster deal that sends guard Sam Cassell, forwards Robert Horry and Chucky Brown, and forward-center Mark Bryant to the Suns.

The deal, formally announced late Monday, capped months of trade talks that appeared to die earlier this summer when a much-rumored three-way trade involving the Rockets, Suns and Denver Nuggets fizzled.

Barkley, who will wear No. 4 in Houston, said at a news conference that up until recently he had wanted to finish his career in Phoenix.

"As of today, my whole goal and dedication goes to the Houston Rockets," he said. "Obviously our goal is to win the world championship. That's the only thing I haven't accomplished in my career.

"Everybody asked me why (Houston). Because they wanted me. I'm a 33-year-old power forward and you want people to want you and to respect you. For them to try as hard as they have in the last year and a half to get me, that made me feel special.

"When I first heard about the trade, I was a little nervous because they did give up a lot to get me. That's just going to make me work harder."

Team owner Les Alexander said he regretted having to give up the other players. "But I have to do what is best for the team. Charles Barkley is a proven superstar who can instantly make any team better," Alexander said.

NBA sources told The Houston Chronicle in a story published Monday that the trade came together quickly in the past few days after Bryant was included in the mix.

The earlier exchange would have cost the Rockets only Horry and Cassell, two mainstays of their 1994 and 1995 NBA championship teams. Now they also surrender Brown, 27, the only Rocket to play in all 82 regular season games last season, and Bryant, 31, who arrived a year ago to give center Hakeem Olajuwon an occasional breather.

In Cassell, 26, and Horry, who turns 26 this week, the Suns get youth and potential. Both are streaky players capable of lighting up a scoreboard with 3-point shots. They also can disappear from the scoring sheets.

In Barkley, who has averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game the past 11 seasons, the Rockets get sizzle and swagger and a third likely Hall of Famer on the court to join Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

"I like Robert and Sam as individuals and I liked playing with them," Drexler said. "But on the other hand, you have to look at who you're getting.

"I think it's a gutsy move. I'm excited to be playing with Charles and Hakeem on the same floor."
Barkley arrived in Houston late Sunday night with security rivalling that of a head of state. He did not go through a terminal at Houston Intercontinental Airport but instead was whisked away in a limousine that took him from the airport tarmac to a hotel.

Barkley is a 10-time All-Star who averaged 23.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season and just finished play with Olajuwon on the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic basketball team. Four years ago, he teamed with Drexler on the U.S. Olympic Dream Team.

With Barkley, Olajuwon and Drexler, the Rockets will have 37 years of NBA experience, four Olympic gold medals, three NBA championships and 30 All-Star appearances.

Almost lost in the Barkley hoopla was Houston's signing of 7-foot free-agent center Kevin Willis, who averaged better than 10 points and eight rebounds last year while playing for Miami and then Golden State.

"It's like night and day," a beaming Willis said as he arrived Monday in Houston. "(Houston's) the ultimate team to be on now."

With Barkley and Willis joining Olajuwon, the Rockets hope to improve from the ranks of the NBA's worst rebounding teams.

They also expect to better compete with Western Conference rivals Seattle, which swept Houston 4-0 in the playoffs last season to end the Rockets' dream of a third straight NBA title, and the Los Angeles Lakers, who bolstered their squad with the off-season signing of free agent center Shaquille O'Neal.

"Hopefully, they can regain the championship," the 6-foot-3 Cassell, a Houston fan favorite, said of his now former team. "But I'm going to make it as hard as possible."

He'll be one of four point guards, led by veteran Kevin Johnson, vying for spots on the Suns.
The 6-10 Horry was less diplomatic, saying Alexander was thinking more like a fan than an owner by agreeing to the 4-for-1 swap.

"He's not thinking about how to mold and mesh as a team," Horry said.

All four of the newest Suns will become free agents at the end of the upcoming season unless they sign contract extensions. Barkley is under contract for the next two seasons.