Rocket's Greatest Trade

Moses Malone: On October 24, 1976, after Malone had played only two games with the Braves, Buffalo sent him to the Rockets in exchange for two first-round draft picks. Houston made the move at the insistence of new coach Tom Nissalke, who had been at the helm in Utah during Malone's rookie year with the Stars. Joining the Rockets at age 21, Malone was thought by many to still be in the learning stages. If so, he was in the accelerated class. He averaged 13.2 points and 13.1 rebounds in 1976-77 and led the league in offensive rebounds with 437

Sleepy Floyd: As the 1987-88 season got underway, discord between Sampson and Coach Bill Fitch led to an early-season trade that sent Sampson and guard Steve Harris to Golden State for guard Eric "Sleepy" Floyd and center Joe Barry Carroll. (The trade marked the first time that two No. 1 draft choices had been swapped for each other.) Fitch said the trade would make the team better than the 1986 NBA Finals squad. In reality, Houston finished 46-36 and fourth in a tough Midwest Division-and Fitch was replaced by Don Chaney after the season.

Otis Thorpe: In the fall of 1988 the Rockets began shuffling players to restock the roster. They sent Carroll and Lester Conner to the New Jersey Nets for Tim McCormick and Frank Johnson and packaged Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen to Sacramento for Otis Thorpe. The Thorpe trade would pay quick dividends. A 6-10 power forward from Providence with hands as big as frying pans, Thorpe provided some help for Olajuwon inside and would consistently rank among the league leaders in both field-goal percentage and dunks.

Kenny Smith: Although Floyd (7.3 apg) and Lucas (4.9) still had some life, the Rockets wanted youth at the point guard position. Prior to the 1990-91 season they traded Tim McCormick and Lucas to Atlanta for Kenny Smith and Roy Marble. Smith, a native of Queens, New York, had been a high-profile collegian at the University of North Carolina. He finished his career as the Tar Heels' all-time assists leader and took the team to undefeated records in the Atlantic Coast Conference in both 1984 and 1987. Sacramento had selected him sixth in the 1987 NBA Draft, then traded him to Atlanta midway through the 1989-90 campaign. Kenny Smith was part of a new mix that brought Houston 11 additional wins in 1990-91.

Clyde Drexler: The team's late-season troubles provided fuel for critics of the Thorpe-Drexler deal, but Drexler would have none of it. The trade reunited him with Hakeem Olajuwon, his former teammate at the University of Houston, and returned him to his hometown. It also gave the team two superstars who, as it turned out, didn't allow the Rockets to lose the crucial games.
Houston's playoff run was the stuff of legend.

Charles Barkely: Already boasting two of the game's finest players in Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the Houston Rockets entered the 1997 season with a new weapon, forward Charles Barkley, acquired in an offseason trade with the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Sam Cassell, Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant and Robert Horry. Barkley, Olajuwon and Drexler were each named among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History prior to the season. They spent the season backing it up, leading the Rockets to a 57-25 record and a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
Barkley averaged 19.2 points and 13.5 rebounds and injected some fresh life into the Rockets. In his very first game as a Rocket, Barkley collected an NBA season-high 33 rebounds against his former team, the Phoenix Suns.

Scottie Pippen: After acquiring Pippen from Chicago in a sign-and-trade deal, the Rockets featured a front line with three future Hall of Famers: Hakeem Olajuwon, Barkley and Pippen. The trio led Houston to a 31-19 record.

Steve Francis: On August 27, 1999 in a three-team trade, Vancouver traded the rights to first round draft pick Steve Francis, Tony Massenburg, Lee Mayberry, Makhtar Ndiaye, Rodrick Rhodes, and Michael Smith for Michael Dickerson, Othella Harington, Antoine Carr, Brent Price, Houston's first round draft pick in 2000 or 2001 or 2002, and Orlando's 2000 second round draft pick;

Eddie Griffin:The Rockets had three picks in the first round and they took Richard Jefferson of Arizona with the 13th pick, Jason Collins of Stanford at No. 18 and Brandon Armstrong with the 23rd pick. All three were then shipped to the Nets in exchange for Griffin, a freshman who finished second in the nation in blocked shots and was fifth in rebounding. He was the seventh player taken in the draft. Griffin became the first freshman in Seton Hall history to record double-doubles in his first three games. He set a single-season school record with 133 blocked shots and he averaged 17.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. "I'm really excited about it," Griffin said. "I was excited about going to New Jersey before, because I'm close by (his home in Philadelphia), but I'm looking forward to going to Houston and playing with Cuttino (Mobley) and Steve Francis."

Cato: The deal, first reported earlier this week by media outlets in Houston and Portland, will send the disgruntled Pippen to Portland for Kelvin Cato, Stacey Augmon, Walt Williams, Ed Gray, Brian Shaw and Carlos Rogers. It's a mixed blessing for Pippen, who wanted out of Houston but would have preferred to go to the Lakers so he could be reunited with Phil Jackson, his coach in Chicago when Pippen and the Bulls won six championships.

Some Other Trades..............................................................
James Posey: Apparently looking to clear more salary cap room for the free agent class of 2003, the Nuggets dealt the 6-7 Posey, who averages 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game - all second on the club. However, Posey is in his fourth year and becomes a restricted free agent after this season. Meanwhile, Long, 29, and Bryant, 37, are journeymen with one-year minimum contracts who come off the salary cap July 1.

Caldwell Jones: Malone had become a free agent after the 1981-82 season, and the Sixers made him a contract offer of $13.2 million, an astronomical figure at the time. Houston exercised its right of first refusal and matched the offer, then used the leverage to trade Malone to Philadelphia in exchange for Caldwell Jones and a first-round draft choice.