Is Weems On the Cusp of Raptor Greatness?

[Doc]

LOL ... I thought the title might catch some people's attention.

I love the growth this kid has shown over these last couple weeks, but don't you think we're getting ahead of ourselves right now with his potential? Everywhere I read today is "Sonny this & Sonny that". "Sonny saved that old woman's cat from the burning apartment". Right now Sonny could sleep with any of your wives or girlfriends and most you would just him the high five. I just don't get it.

Three of his "breakout" games this season came against two of the weakest opponents in all the NBA in the Nets and the Knicks. I could understand the optimism if some of his biggest performances came against some formidable opponents but come'on .. the Knicks and Nets.

Anyhow, I'm one of the many Raptor pessimists here in Canada so I have no problem being proven wrong or "eating crow" but I'm just not buying into all the excitement with Weems right now. Great guy coming off the bench and I'd even suggest he should play before DeRozan, but until I see efforts like last night against teams like the Magic, Lakers, Celtics, etc., I'm still not convinced.

After this season, where does Weems fit in long term? Actually, let's not worry about long term. What do you think his role will be with this team come next season. Just another energy guy off the bench or do you think he actually stands a legit chance to start on the Raptors next year?

[Doc]

850K, Doc.

His price / performance ratio is boosting everyones hopes.

Absolutely Vellassco .... I'm not disputing that at all. For $850K he is a steal right now. My point is that everyone and their grandmother to some degree are pumping him up a little too much. I just hope he doesn't crumble under all the pressure much like Joey Graham did.

[OzRapFan]

I like the fact that he is giving us another option as our future starting SG & we dont have to put all our faith in Demar, May the best man win & adios and good luck to the other.

[MattyG-Ray]

Well, the major difference i see between Sonny and Demar is that Sonny seems to have an NBA ready body. Demar really needs to hit the weight room this summer, it will really help him absorb contact when attacking the rim, which is what he is best at. The difference between the upper body in Demar and Sonny looks pretty significant.

Both Sonny and Demar have decent mid range games, but are brutal from three point range. I think this would be a focal point of the work they will be putting in this summer. For the two of them to be effective on the court when playing together, one of them must be able to stretch the defense. If one or both of them can develop an outside shot, then I think you strongly consider keeping both of them. If not, then I would look at trading Sonny. I think a guy like Corey Brewer would be a good fit for Toronto, he can play both wing positions, is a good defender, and has good mechanics on his shot which has allowed him to become a good three point shooter.

[Hotshot]

May be front office should switch the idea of taking Demar as a project and give it to Weems. I meant he is not as good as he has been shown but if he is taken as a project he can have some bright future. I'm not sure but i believe its worth to try. Nothing to loose.

Lets not forget that Demar is 3 years younger then Weems, so yeah Weems is stronger and has a more NBA ready body + Polished game but its still very impressive what Demar has achieved thus far. When Sonny was 20 years old (Demar's age), he was just making his strides in college and the NBA seemed nothing but a dream.

I think in a year or two if Sonny continue's to improve then he will probably become a starter and send Hedo to the bench. It will be nice having Demar and Sonny at the starting lineup at the same time in the future where we finally have a real prototype athletic looking NBA players instead of the less athletic soft euro bi-product of recent past.

[detour]

I think in a year or two if Sonny continue's to improve then he will probably become a starter and send Hedo to the bench. It will be nice having Demar and Sonny at the starting lineup at the same time in the future where we finally have a real prototype athletic looking NBA players instead of the less athletic soft euro bi-product of recent past.

Even if their games improve, I doubt that Sonny will usurp Turkoglu for the Starting 3 spot. We've just made way too much of an investment in him. However, I do see Sonny and Demar being extremely similar interchangeable players in the near future, but that doesn't mean one is expendable. On the floor together when Turk is off, they can really do some damage. However, I feel that Demar would flourish with Sonny, Amir and Jose in the second unit, and that Belinelli would benefit from playing with Bosh and Turk in the starting unit. This has nothing to do with whoever is the better player, but rather whoever is the best fit.

[Bendit]

Here is a nice feelgood piece on Sonny and JJ. J. Moon had talent I thought initially for one undrafted but Sonny W. can go so much further (2nd rd. pick) if he just "plays within himself" and stays the course. The NBA can be a cruel place for many a talented dude but I feel Sonny is going to make it good.

http://blogs.thescore.com/nba/2010/0.../#comment-1973

[INFO]

i love Weems but i dont really see him as a starter..
He is a great energy guy off the bench who can push and rebound the ball
I really dont see a point in arguing "Do we keep Weems or Demar?" They are both nice pieces but i think we all see that Demar is almost on par with Weems at the moment and he is 3 years younger. I think next year Demar will be really good and Weems will play great off the bench..

[StaytheCourse]

i love Weems but i dont really see him as a starter..
He is a great energy guy off the bench who can push and rebound the ball
I really dont see a point in arguing "Do we keep Weems or Demar?" They are both nice pieces but i think we all see that Demar is almost on par with Weems at the moment and he is 3 years younger. I think next year Demar will be really good and Weems will play great off the bench..

I have to agree. This is not a case of "either/or"

Why should it be?

Weems and Amir Johnson were flat-out steals!

[Dave]

Doubt it -- Not much of a defender (serviceable but below average). Not much of a rebounder (good for SG, bad for SF). Not much of a scorer (13 per 36) or much of a complementary offensive talent (can't shoot) + quite inefficient (TS% of 50%). Not much of a passer/playmaker either.

Overall, Sonny Weems just isn't that good and he's going to be 24 years old this summer. The level of improvement he'd have to show to become a star player in this league is massive.

Heck, I don't even think he's a rotation worthy player in the NBA (yet) ... I think he's only playing because the Raptors wing rotation is so poor (ditto for DeRozan, Belinelli and Wright) ...

I think Weems has got a good chance at becoming a useful rotation player but I doubt he ever becomes a star talent.