Following the season's end and the Rockets' early elimination from the playoffs, Pippen expressed a desire to be traded. Charles Barkley appeared on "Up Close" and openly criticized Pippen, saying, "For him to want to leave after one year, it disappointed me greatly. The Rockets went out of their way to get Scottie and the fans have treated him well, so I was just disappointed in him." Pippen responded by saying, "I wouldn't give Charles Barkley an apology at gunpoint. He can never expect an apology from me. If anything, he owes me an apology for coming to play with his fat butt." He stated that the main reasons for his departure were Barkley's selfishness and his lack of desire to win. He also expressed the wish to play for his former coach Phil Jackson, who was now coaching the Los Angeles Lakers. Pippen said one of the reasons he wanted to play for Jackson was that he longed to return to the system in which they won six NBA titles together in Chicago. Pippen was traded by the Houston Rockets to the Portland Trail Blazers on October 2, 1999, in exchange for Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw and Walt Williams.