Moving to New Jersey apparently hasn't solved Shawn Bradley's career problems.
You're shocked, right? In five games since being traded to the Nets from Philadelphia, Bradley - who should be on the court when the Utah Jazz face New Jersey Monday night at Meadowlands Arena - is averaging about 16 minutes, 5.5 rebounds, 3.25 blocked shots, 6.5 points, while shooting 40 percent from the field.His longest game appearance was 22 minutes, and he has yet to start a game. Nets coach Butch Beard is still starting Yinka Dare, though he frequently goes with a small frontline of Armon Gilliam, Jayson Williams and Ed O'Bannon, which they can get away with because Gilliam and Williams are among the NBA's top 10 rebounders.
In his first game as a Net, Bradley earned a technical even before he took off his warmups. The 7-foot-6 ex-BYU star from Castle Dale was sitting on the bench in the first quarter, heckling a replacement official, when hit with the "T". Bradley later described the call as "pathetic."
Of course, acquiring Bradley was not necessarily the chief goal of the trade that brought him to the Nets. For New Jersey, a bigger plus was getting rid of chronic malcontent Derrick Coleman.
"We got rid of somebody who didn't want to be here," Williams said. "And we got three guys who do want to be here. Derrick didn't want to be here, so he's gone. Goodbye."
That didn't rid the team of discontented players, however. Point guard Kenny Anderson is also dissatisfied, and the Nets are trying to trade him.
The Anderson situation got a little nastier on Friday, when he was left on the bench in the fourth quarter of a loss to Detroit. Beard said he wanted to go with his best defensive players. Anderson said that's bunk.
"I'm not happy, that's the bottom line," Anderson said. "Take that for what it's worth."
The problem, though, is Anderson's worth. He's already rejected a six-year, $40-million offer, and teams are afraid of how much he wants.
"We're looking around, but it's tough to move him," a team official told the New York Daily News. "Who's going to take him? He's going to be a free agent after the season, but if we don't move him we'll lose him for nothing. We're looking."
Anderson, who is shooting 38 percent from the field, claims that cash is not his highest priority.
"Money is not the issue," he said. "I just want to win."