Rockets resign their own 5

HOUSTON, JAN. 22 -- The Houston Rockets have re-signed forward Charles Barkley, forward Matt Bullard, forward/center Othella Harrington, guard/forward Eddie Johnson and guard Matt Maloney to free agent contracts, Executive Vice President of Basketball Carroll Dawson announced today. "The reason that we feel comfortable bringing in new players is because we have such an established nucleus in place," Dawson said. "These players have been critical to our success in the past and we felt it imperative to bring each of them back."

Barkley begins his third season in Houston, having averaged 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in 121 games since joining the Rockets. This past season Barkley averaged 15.2 points and 11.7 rebounds in 68 games and earned selection to the Rockets 30-Year Team as one of the top 10 players in franchise history. The 6-6, 252-pound forward became the Rockets sixth man on Feb. 10 and averaged 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in 27 games as a reserve. His season ended abruptly in the first round of the playoffs vs. Utah, when he tore the triceps tendon in his right arm in Game 4.

Honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, the 14-year veteran has career averages of 22.5 points and 11.7 rebounds in 1,011 total games with Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston. The 11-time All-Star currently ranks 16th all-time and third among active players in NBA scoring with 22,792 points. A member of the gold medal-winning United States Dream Teams of 1992 and 1996, Barkley has been named to the All-NBA First Team five times and the All-NBA Second Team five times, winning the NBA's Most Valuable Player award with Phoenix in 1993.

Bullard has played six of his seven NBA seasons with the Rockets, spending the 1995-96 season with Atlanta. He has averaged 5.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 426 NBA games. In Rockets history, Bullard ranks third with 368 three-pointers made, fourth with 980 three-pointers attempted, and fifth with a 37.6 three-point percentage. Last season with the Rockets, the 6-10, 235 pound forward averaged 7.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 67 games, making 24 starts. His three-point accuracy of 41.6 percent ranked him 12th among league leaders.

Harrington has averaged 5.4 points on 51.3 percent shooting in 115 games over the past two years. The 6-9, 235-pound forward/center averaged 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 58 games last season. The Georgetown graduate notched two of his four double-doubles in his three starts. He scored in double figures 15 times, recording a career-high 18 points at Milwaukee on March 24. On Jan. 10 vs. Utah, he grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds.

Johnson begins his 17th NBA season with 19,190 career points, ranking fifth amongst active players and 29th in NBA history. The 1989 Sixth Man of the Year holds career averages of 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 1,196 total games. After joining the Rockets midway through the 1996-97 season, Johnson made his presence felt in the 1997 NBA Playoffs. Against the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals, he scored his Rockets playoff-high 31 points in a Game 3 victory and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win Game 4. Last season the 6-7, 215-pound swingman averaged 8.4 points, reaching double figures in 26 of 75 games. On March 5 vs. Miami, Johnson became the 31st player in NBA history to reach 19,000 points, and on March 9 at Utah he registered a season-high 37 points.

Maloney has averaged 9.0 points and 3.3 assists over the last two seasons as the Rockets starting point guard. He stands fourth in Rockets history in three-point percentage at 38.5 percent. In 1996-97, he joined Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson as the only rookies in Rockets history to start all 82 regular season games. Last season Maloney averaged 8.6 points and 2.8 assists in 78 starts with the Rockets. He scored in double figures 32 times, hitting 83.3 percent of his free throw attempts and 36.4 percent of his three-point attempts. The 6-3, 200-pound guard scored a career-high-tying 24 points on a career-high 10 field goals at Vancouver on Feb. 12.