He has talent, so why is Bonzi Wells still unsigned?

	Bonzi Wells can make the right moves on the court, but not always the right ones off it. AP

Scorers are a hot commodity in the NBA today. So are physical swingmen, rugged defenders and strong rebounders. Suffice it to say that if there was one player who embodied all of those attributes, he would be worthy of a lucrative contract, especially when you consider the average salary in the NBA is around $5 million.

So why is Bonzi Wells still out of a job?

It's because for the last nine years Wells, 29, has blended his remarkable talents with a personality that is unremarkable. Amazingly, he has made himself an undesirable in a league that salivates over talent.

Last season Wells averaged 13.6 points and 7.7 rebounds in Sacramento, numbers that better his career averages of 12.8 points and 4.7 boards. In the playoffs he took his game to another level, averaging 23.2 points and 12 rebounds in the Kings' first-round series with San Antonio.

Wells made $8 million in the final year of a three-year, $20 million deal (with a player option) he signed with Portland in 2002. He turned down a five-year, $36 million offer from Sacramento at the start of free agency. He wanted to make $8 million again.

Not going to happen.

"He's a little unpredictable," one NBA assistant says. "But he's loaded with talent and still has a lot of years left. I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest in him."

Surprised? Can you really be surprised when the guy has been run out of two cities and made himself persona non grata in a third (Kings GM Geoff Petrie called the return of Wells "impractical")? Can you really be surprised at the lack of interest in a man who has been suspended for cursing out his coach, fined for making an obscene gesture at a fan, suspended for spitting on another player and suspended for his role in a postgame brawl with another team?

Even if Wells were to morph into a model citizen overnight, the well, so to speak, for his services has already dried up. Indiana just added Al Harrington. Detroit spent its free-agent money on Nazr Mohammed. After Wells turned down their offer, the Kings signed John Salmons. Those were the teams reportedly most interested in him.