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top ten unemployed players: any of them help?

DrReality

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DrReality

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One of them guarded Shaq in the NBA Finals two seasons ago, another scored 20 points in the first half of a second-round playoff game against the Pistons last May, and a third has been a scoring machine over his nine-year NBA career, going for 36 points twice last season when he split time between Denver and Milwaukee.

They all have one thing in common as we head into the second full week of the 2007-08 NBA season: They're all watching the action from their sofas.

DJ Mbenga, P.J. Brown and Earl Boykins are the players referenced above, and different sets of circumstances led to their unemployment.

Mbenga was cut by the Dallas Mavericks to make room on the roster for Juwan Howard; Brown has been enjoying time with his family in Slidell, La., awaiting word on whether he'll be part of a sign-and-trade for Kobe Bryant; and Boykins is splitting time between Cleveland and Denver, no doubt regretting his decision to opt out of the final year of his contract -- kissing a guaranteed $3 million goodbye.

Of the three, Boykins figures to be the first to return to the NBA, which is why he's ahead of the other two on ESPN.com's first installment of the 2007-08 list of the Top 10 Unemployed NBA Players.

Varejao

1. Anderson Varejao, FC

Status: Restricted free agent (Cavaliers)

"We are at an impasse," said agent Dan Fegan, who rejected the Cavs' latest offer on the eve of the start of the regular season and has offered to have an impartial arbitrator brought in. Fegan is trying to find teams willing to do a sign-and-trade with the Cavs, and Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry would agree to one if an affordable big man came in return.

And although Varejao is now reportedly willing to sign a one-year deal with Cleveland for a salary around the midlevel exception, the Cavs will not make that type of offer. If the impasse doesn't end, Varejao is considering playing this season in the Spanish League. But his NBA rights would continue to belong to Cleveland for as long as the Cavs continued to make him an offseason qualifying offer.

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Boykins

2. Earl Boykins, PG

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Bucks)

The 5-foot-5 guard made a fateful decision last June when, feeling he had no long-term future in Milwaukee, he opted out of the final year of his contract. Boykins wasn't on anyone's free-agency A-list, and he turned down overtures from the Clippers and Kings when they offered him little more than the veterans' minimum.

He's the one player on this list who could be an immediate offensive difference maker, but his reputation as a ball hog is working against him. Still, there are enough teams out there with at least a portion of the midlevel exception who can meet his asking price. For now, Boykins must wait until an injury or a trade opens a need somewhere.

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Mbenga

3. DJ Mbenga, C

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Mavs)

The Mavericks had no room for the athletically gifted 7-footer when they decided to sign Howard for the veterans' minimum, so they reluctantly cut him. Mbenga, still recovering from ACL surgery, is currently working out in Sacramento and turning away offers from teams in Europe, believing there's a place for him in the NBA.

One place where he'd be a perfect fit is Boston, where there's little size behind Kendrick Perkins.

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Brown

4. P.J. Brown, FC

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Bulls)

The Suns and Mavericks came calling over the summer, but Brown told them he was in no hurry to resume his 14-year career. Brown plans to revisit the issue in December or January, which gives him time to wait out the Kobe Bryant saga in Los Angeles and see if he stumbles into an easy payday since the Bulls and Lakers would need to use him in a sign-and-trade deal to make the salaries match if the Bryant-to-Chicago talks are rekindled.

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Webber

5. Chris Webber, FC

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Pistons)

Webber turned down a two-year offer from Olympiakos in Greece that would have made him the highest-paid player in Europe, choosing instead to wait out the situation in Detroit, where Joe Dumars will try to open salary space for him later this season by trying to find a taker for Flip Murray, Ronald Dupree and/or Nazr Mohammed. (Dumars' best trade offer for Mohammed last season was Minnesota's Marko Jaric.)

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Davis

6. Dale Davis, C

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Pistons)

The wily veteran spent the last two seasons in Detroit, which makes him an expert on the inner workings of the Pistons' locker room. That factor, as much as any, is one of the reasons why the rival Cleveland Cavaliers have been tossing around the idea of signing the 38-year-old -- especially if the Varejao situation remains unresolved.

Davis, who had a blood clot removed from his lung in July, had expected to join Seattle over the summer before the Sonics made the Kurt Thomas deal.

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Andersen

7. Chris Andersen, FC

Status: Serving two-year NBA drug suspension

Andersen can apply for reinstatement on Jan. 28, and the Hornets would then have 30 days to tender him a contract under his old salary. If they decline, Andersen would become an unrestricted free agent. He is currently splitting time between his home life in Denver and his workouts in Las Vegas under the director of NBA training guru Joe Abunassar.

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McLeod

8. Keith McLeod, PG

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Pacers)

There was a glaring need a week ago in Sacramento for a playmaker, and there were some with the Kings who felt this four-year veteran might be the right fit. But the Kings opted instead to sign San Antonio castoff Beno Udrih, leaving McLeod, a starter in 88 of his 200 career games, scratching his head back home in Canton, Ohio, as he waits for the phone to ring.

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Jackson

9. Luke Jackson, SF

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Raptors)

The former lottery pick (drafted 10th overall in 2004 by Cleveland, five spots ahead of Al Jefferson, 10 spots ahead of Jameer Nelson and 16 ahead of Kevin Martin) fell victim to Sam Mitchell's infatuation with Jamario Moon and was Toronto's final cut of the preseason.

He now plans to wait another week to see if an NBA offer comes before he decides whether to play in Europe. FC Barcelona, Alba Berlin and Tau Ceramica have all expressed interest.

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Potapenko

10. Vitaly Potapenko, C

Status: Unrestricted free agent (Kings)

We feel guilty giving him the final spot on this list over the likes of Gary Payton, Justin Reed, Dahntay Jones, John Lucas III, Rafael Araujo and Jackie Butler, but the fact is that several teams -- including Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Golden State and Phoenix -- are in the market for big bodies. Potapenko, an 11-year vet, can be had for the veterans' minimum, with the league office paying most of the salary.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.

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DrReality Rookie

DrReality

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Here's the story on Butler.

(Spurs fan here)

it started like mentioned. he showed up out of shape. that's a no-no with any coach, but even more with Pop. he was forced to slim down and word was that he in fact lost some 30 lbs, but duing the season there were also some little stories reported about the Spurs being unhappy with him and his progress. (Finley once forced Butler to run some extra sprints alongside him, because he felt that Butler didn't try hard enough in a practice.) another thing was, that Butler usually looked totally disinterested during the games when riding the bench. other subs usually cheer for their team, Butler just sat there with a boared face. once Duncan yelled at him, because a player got hurt (don't remeber, I guess it was Bonner) and had to be helped to the locker and Butler sat beside and didn't move a bit. it doesn't happen very often that Duncan does something like this in public.

what I try to point out. Butler obviously wasn't able to become part of the team and he wasn't accepted by the veterans. considering the good chemistry of the Spurs and the no nonsense aproach of the whole team, this can only have been the result of a realy bad work ethic.

btw. he didn't get playing time at the end of the season. he just started the last 2 (meaningless) games, when Spurs played without most of their regular rotation. the only reason I can see was to showcase him a bit.

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ATLJA316 Newbie

ATLJA316

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I loved Luke Jackson's game back in his Oregon days, but he never got the chance to show it off in the NBA...

He's an all-around package. I'm sure he can help any team that needs to get a spot or two deeper.

And Mbenga? I'd take him anyday, and I'd split Zaza's PT w/ him at that.

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