[1] During the off-season, the Blazers acquired All-Star forward and 6-time champion Scottie Pippen from the Houston Rockets,[2][3][4][5][6] acquired Steve Smith from the Atlanta Hawks,[7][8][9][10] and signed free agent Detlef Schrempf.
(However, the Blazers would enjoy the homecourt advantage over Utah in their second-round playoff series).
[31][32][33][34] In the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Blazers came back from a 3–1 series deficit to force Game 7.
[35][36] Up by 15 points with ten minutes remaining in Game 7, the Blazers suffered a 15–0 run by Los Angeles that tied the score, and the Lakers pulled out an 89–84 victory to advance to the 2000 NBA Finals,[37][38][39][40] where they would go on to defeat the Indiana Pacers in six games to win their 12th NBA championship.
On August 2, the Blazers traded Jim Jackson and Isaiah Rider to the Hawks for Ed Gray and Steve Smith.
Pippen would be the Blazers' starting small forward until 2003, when he signed with the Chicago Bulls, the team which he spent the majority of his career with.