Robert Horry on why he was mad when Houston acquired Charles Barkley: "A guy who doesn't like to practice, a guy who doesn't work hard"

Being pushed out of a franchise you want to stay with hits differently. Back in 1996, Robert Horry faced that exact nightmare — though his frustration ran deeper than the usual "business of basketball" cliché.

Nearly two decades after the Houston Rockets traded him to the Phoenix Suns in the Charles Barkley deal, Horry revealed as much. What really burned him, he admitted in 2015, was the fact that he saw Barkley — for all his star power — as the kind of player he'd trade for if he were calling the shots himself.

1996 blockbuster trade

At the start of his NBA career, Horry personified Houston's "Clutch City" identity. Drafted 11th out of Alabama in 1992, he — able to stretch the floor and guard multiple positions — slid into the league as the kind of player every franchise in today's pace-and-space world would kill to have. His knack for delivering clutch shot after clutch shot only amplified his value, helping the Rockets secure championships in 1994 and 1995.

By 1996, however, Houston — after being swept in the second round by the Seattle SuperSonics — had hit a rough patch. Consequently, the front office decided a shake-up was necessary, resulting in a blockbuster trade: Horry, Sam Cassell, Chucky Brown and Mark Bryant were sent to Phoenix for superstar forward Barkley.

On paper, the 1993 Most Valuable Player seemed like Houston's ticket back to the promised land. It's safe to say that at the time, Horry didn't buy into that very idea. It rings true because, decades later, when reflecting on the infamous trade, he bluntly called Barkley "a guy who doesn't like to practice, a guy who doesn't work hard."

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Was Horry spot on?

For Horry, it was clear from the start: Barkley just didn't fit the intensity that had carried H-Town to its consecutive championship rings. Even as Horry went on to snag five more rings himself, the move never fully sat right with him. Maybe if he'd been traded for a different player? But for Barkley? No way.

Evidently, the Rockets' front office at the time, led by Bob Weinhauer, saw things very differently — a perspective Horry never quite came to understand, later expressing disbelief that anyone would believe Barkley, long seen as a "non-winning" player, could suddenly become Houston's championship savior.

"Charles didn't win anything in Phoenix; he didn't win anything in Philly. And sometimes, you know, great players don't make a great team better," said Rob.

Echoing Horry's observation, Barkley didn't win anything during his four years in Houston, either. The reason? Horry had an answer for that as well, pointing to the structural flaw that defined the Rockets post-trade: too many, as he put it, cooks in the kitchen — Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon and Barkley — but not enough players willing to do the often unglamorous, yet crucial, prep work behind the scenes.

The now 55-year-old added that, in his view, the team would have been far better off passing on that trade and sticking two young players — himself and Cassell — in the lineup alongside veterans Drexler and Olajuwon, calling it a much better setup.

While it may be mere conjecture, Horry's point holds up when you look at championship-winning teams. Role players and team chemistry often matter more than you might expect — sometimes even more than stacking star power. With that in mind, it's reasonable to conclude that, in the mid-1990s, Houston may have lost more than it gained by acquiring The Round Mound of Rebound.

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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.