Sonny Weems Close to Signing Overseas

[Built Ford Tough]

I saw this on the Sportsnet ticker during the Blue Jays/Phillies post game coverage. I imagine it is just for 1 year or something considering the lockout, and if that is the case, good for Sonny. Even if it is for a long term contract, I'm not that worried considering how poorly he played last season, although I was somewhat looking forward to seeing how Casey works with him. His first season with the team he played pretty good defense and was a nice player for the team. He just got too chuck happy and neglected the defensive end of the floor last season, but I don't think that Casey would let him get away with it like Triano did.

 

Either way, the Raptors will still retain his NBA rights so if they do want to bring him back they always can whenever his contract is up, assuming he wants to come back.

[The Artesticle]

Strange. Reading what you wrote about Sonny Weems, you could also use the same details to describe Shannon Brown's game. lol

[?QuestionMark?]

By my count that's 4 players that have now signed overseas. Nenad Krstic, Hilton Armstrong, Mustafa Shakur, and now Weems. I can see a lot of other players that would rather play overseas rather than wait for the lockout. Some players are making more overseas than they would here. Hell, Quincy Douby signed a one-year deal at 2 million to stay in China. Don't know if he would have gotten more than a minimum offer in the NBA.

[Check my Stats]

I still think Sonny could be a great role player if he focused on being a knock down 3 point shooter, which I think he has the potential to be, or at least above average, and get back to being a good defender. He has good shooting mechanics and is athletic, so the tools are there, he just is too focused on getting as many shots up as possible. Could be a good 5th starter or bench player if he worked on carving himself out a niche.

[Built Ford Tough]

While Weems will have to make do without NBA-style luxuries such charter air travel and five-star hotels — European teams mostly fly commercial and sleep in the four-star accommodations provided by the host team — the signing will have its perks. He will receive the Euro-standard benefit of the use of a gratis apartment and automobile. And though the team and Weems are still putting the finishing touches on the deal, sources say it’s expected Weems will be paid an after-tax net salary approaching 1 million euros, or about $1.4 million (U.S.). That’s a relatively rich deal for a player who earned a pre-tax salary of about $854,389 (U.S.) in Toronto this past season.

 

Though NBA clubs are currently barred from having contact with players, it’s safe to say the Toronto front office would be in favour of Weems playing in Europe; while the club is hardly sold on Weems as a long-term contributor to the cause, newly installed coach Dwane Casey is said to be intrigued by Weems’s potential as a defensive specialist with considerable scoring punch. Weems could raise his NBA stock if he shows the maturity required to thrive in Europe.

 

http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/nba/raptors/article/1020146--feschuk-idled-nbaers-look-for-ways-to-fill-their-time

 

Good for Sonny.

 

It is interesting to note that Zalgiris, the team he is likely going to sign with (just need to finalize the contract and hash out the last minute details by the sounds of it), is supposedly Rytas' biggest rivals. Of course Rytas is the team that Valanciunas plays for.

[Built Ford Tough]

He scored 12 points in his first game with Zalgiris. It was just a friendly game but they won 80-79.

 

Ty Lawson scored 21 points for Zalgiris.