Bradley Traded To New Jersey For Coleman

The New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, two ships sinking in the night, swapped albatrosses on Thursday. The 76ers accepted talented but grumpy forward Derrick Coleman and his $7.5 million annual salary, while the Nets agreed to take tall but skinny center Shawn Bradley and his $6 million.

“For us, it was sad we had to give up on a No. 1 draft pick, a guy that was an all-star,” said Nets general manager Willis Reed. “But basically Derrick said he did not want to play for the New Jersey Nets, and we tried to accommodate him.”

Said 76ers owner Harold Katz of Bradley: “He did not get better. He did not improve. If anything, this season, outside of one game, it’s been worse.”

To make the deal work under the salary cap, the 76ers also sent deep reserves Tim Perry, a forward, and Greg Graham, a guard, to the Nets for forward Sean Higgins and guard Rex Walters.

Coleman, 28, has been sidelined this season by an irregular heartbeat, but recently began practicing. The 6-10 power forward has career averages of 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Coleman, the first player taken in the 1990 NBA draft, had an eventful tenure with the Nets. Last season he signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract extension; defied coach Butch Beard’s dress code, asking if he could write a check in advance for the fines; was left off the East all-star squad as a signal of his esteem in coaches’ eyes; had a confrontation with Reed; and finally, after the Nets came in 11th in the Eastern Conference at 32-50, asked to be traded.

The 7-6, 230-pound Bradley played only his freshman season at Brigham Young, went on a two-year Mormon mission to Australia and struggled in his first two NBA seasons. However, he finished well in his second, averaging 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in the last 17 games.

This season, however, he fell off along with his team. In a loss at Detroit, he played 27 minutes without a rebound. He went scoreless in 23 minutes against Golden State and was booed.

Warriors center Rony Seikaly said he “felt sorry for Shawn.” An unnamed 76ers official told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Bradley, 23, was a “whipped puppy.” Teammates criticized his play.

“We get bullied out there,” 76ers forward Clarence Weatherspoon said. “Our guys in the middle get pushed around out there.”

Bradley, in Toronto, where Philadelphia plays tonight, said, “It’s a new start for me. I’m looking forward to it. New Jersey is excited to have me, and I’m excited about going there and starting brand new.”

Reed now says he’s happy to have a tall center. “The one stat that is very impressive for me is he is fourth in the league in blocked shots, is averaging about 10 points and has the same number of rebounds,” Reed said. “I think those numbers can be increased. If he continues to block shots, that gives us a much better defense and a presence on our ballclub.”

Philadelphia coach John Lucas called Coleman the most talented power forward in the NBA.