the Rockets and Blazers

Coin flip a big part of history

MIKE TOKITO

Starting with Houston coach Rick Adelman, who twice guided Portland to the NBA Finals, the Trail Blazers and Rockets --who play a best-of-seven first-round series starting today --have plenty of intersecting history. Some high and low points:

Tails of woe: In 1984, before the advent of the draft lottery, Portland and Houston were in the coin flip for the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

The Blazers had acquired Indiana's first-round pick through a 1981 trade that sent forward Tom Owens to the Pacers, and Houston had finished with the worst record in the Western Conference, 29-53.

Portland got to make the call and went with tails, but the coin came up heads, giving the Rockets the top pick that they used to draft Hakeem (then Akeem) Olajuwon from the University of Houston. The Blazers got the second pick and took Sam Bowie out of Kentucky in a still-much-debated selection.

Chicago, with the third pick, took Michael Jordan out of North Carolina.

Big trade: The trade with the biggest impact came in 1995. Clyde Drexler, the Blazers' All-Star guard, had been unhappy all season after the team had replaced Adelman with P.J. Carlesimo, and had asked new general manager Bob Whitsitt for a trade.

Finally, on Feb. 14, Whitsitt traded Drexler to Houston along with forward Tracy Murray for Otis Thorpe, the rights to Marcel Nicole and a first-round draft pick (which was later traded to Detroit). Drexler gave the then-struggling Rockets, the defending NBA champions, a boost, and they repeated as champions.

Drexler's jersey was later retired by both franchises.

Big trade II: Whitsitt continued the seemingly endless dealing that earned him the nickname "Trader Bob" by pulling the trigger on an blockbuster deal on Oct. 2, 1999, days before training camp was to start.

The Blazers had made the Western Conference finals earlier that year but were swept by San Antonio. Seeking a steadying veteran, Whitsitt acquired Scottie Pippen, a stalwart on Chicago's championship teams, from the Rockets for six players --Stacy Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw and Walt Williams.

The Blazers again reached the conference finals, but lost in the seventh game to the Los Angeles Lakers. They have not won a playoff series since.

Another center: The two greatest players in Rockets history are centers --Olajuwon and Moses Malone. The Blazers had a hand in Malone ending up in Houston.

The Blazers acquired Malone in the 1976 dispersion draft for players from the American Basketball Association, which folded. But with Bill Walton already on the roster, Portland traded Malone on Oct. 18 to Buffalo for its 1978 first-round pick (which Portland used to pick Mychal Thompson). One week later, Buffalo sent Malone to Houston for the Rockets' 1977 and 1978 first-round picks.

The Blazers had nothing to do with Yao Ming.

In the playoffs: The franchises have played twice in the postseason, in the 1987 and 1994 first rounds. Both years, the Rockets won 3-1 in what were then best-of-five series.

Olajuwon was the dominant force both years, averaging 30.6 points in the eight games. The high point for him was in the second game in 1994, when he scored 46 points, which tied the record for most points scored against the Blazers in a playoff (later broken by the 47 points scored by Phoenix's Charles Barkley in 1995).

Into the stands and into infamy: The most infamous incident between the teams came Feb. 6, 1995, during a game at Memorial Coliseum. Houston guard Vernon Maxwell went 12 rows into the baseline bleachers and punched a fan.

The NBA hit Maxwell with what, at the time, was one of the stiffest penalties in sports history --a 10-day suspension without pay and a $20,000 fine, which combined cost Maxwell more than $200,000.

By the time Maxwell returned, Drexler was playing for Houston, and Maxwell took a leave of absence and was eventually waived.

Executive beginnings: The team official who ran the Blazers during much of their recent lean seasons had deep roots with the Rockets. Steve Patterson was the Blazers' president from 2003 to 2007, including a year when he also was general manager.

His big break came in 1989, when at 31 he became the youngest general manager in the NBA, holding the position until he was fired in 1993. Patterson had succeeded his father, Ray, who had been the Rockets' general manager the previous 17 years.

Steve Patterson, in fact, was with his father in NBA commissioner David Stern's office during the 1984 coin flip that came up heads for Houston.

Mike Tokito: 503-294-7603;

miketokito@news.oregonian.com