It's time to put to rest the latest Shawn Bradley-to-the-Utah-Jazz rumor.
If you were listening to local radio talk shows Wednesday, you may have heard discussions of a rumored Bradley trade, the same sort of scuttlebutt that seems to crop up about twice a season. (Maybe it emanates from Castle Dale.) Anyway, here's how this one started:- In his afternoon show on Wednesday, Sports Talk 570's Tom Nissalke casually mentioned rumors that the Nets have tried to shop the 7-foot-6 Bradley.
- Somehow, a sports writer for the Newark Star-Ledger, while in Japan to cover the Nets-Magic game, heard that rumor.
- That writer asked John Nash, Nets general manager, and Michael Rowe, Nets president, about the rumors, and was told the team had no interest in shopping Bradley. Still, it made a good off-day story, so their denials appeared in print - which naturally fanned the rumor flames.
Scott Layden, Jazz director of basketball operations, declines to comment on player-personnel matters, but Nash and Rowe talked.
"It would figure that Utah would have an interest in Shawn," Nash said. "But we maintain a great interest in Shawn as well. There's no truth to the rumor."
Nash said he wouldn't be surprised if Layden did call sometime.
"Scottie Layden has always said, 'Put me down for Bradley,' but that just puts him in a pan with the majority of NBA teams that would have interest in a center like Shawn," Nash said. "Utah's interest in Bradley has been longstanding. But we've rejected their interest over the last year.
"Whenever we call teams up, they always ask about the same players - Shawn, Jayson (Williams), Eddie O'Bannon," Nash continued. "Our reason for us calling other teams isn't to talk about Shawn. But his name comes up. You'll always hear the Utah stories. But it's no different than the rumors about the Los Angeles teams being interested in bringing Eddie O'Bannon back home."
Rowe said that the quickest way to discourage Jazz interest in Bradley is to start talking about getting someone like Karl Malone in return. For now, though, the Nets are planning to build around Bradley.
"I think our team has to develop around Shawn for quite a bit of time before we consider any changes in that spot," Nash said.
From a practical standpoint, one has to wonder what the Jazz would have to give up to get someone like Bradley. The ex-BYU star makes somewhere around $4.5-5 million this year. To match that amount in a trade, the Jazz probably would have to give up at least a trio of players.
Who might that be? Figure it this way: Malone and John Stockton are untouchable. Jeff Hornacek has some trade value, but swapping him would damage team chemistry. (In other words, Malone and Stockton like the guy.) It's hard to picture the Nets being interested in Antoine Carr because of his age, or Chris Morris and Jamie Watson because of their questionable performance. Which means the Jazz likely would have to ship off at least two of their three most marketable players - Adam Keefe, Bryon Russell and Greg Ostertag - along with one or two of the remaining guys - Greg Foster, Howard Eisley, Brooks Thompson, Shandon Anderson.
Which brings up another question: Would Bradley be worth all that? He looked awful when he played against the Jazz at the Delta Center during the preseason. And in the Nets' season-opener, he had nine points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots, but reportedly was giving up points inside as fast as the Cavaliers could score them.