DENVER—Sonny Weems, the Denver Nuggets’ newest draft pick, has caught a couple of glimpses of the brand of basketball his future teammates play.
The Arkansas product thinks his game is a perfect fit.
Just like the Nuggets, he prefers to get up and down the floor at a frenzied pace.
“I just bring it every day,” Weems said in a phone conversation on Friday. “I hustle. I give it my all on the court. I have heart.”
The Nuggets certainly believe in his talent, jumping back into the draft late Thursday night. The Razorbacks swing man was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 39th overall pick before being shipped to the Nuggets as part of a three-team trade in which Portland wound up with Denver’s second-round pick in 2009.
The Nuggets were surprised to see him tumble into the second round, ranking him as a mid first-round pick on their draft board.
They decided it was time to act.
“In each draft, you read it as you go—Who’s slipping? Where’s the value?” said Mark Warkentien, the team’s vice president of basketball operations. “With Sonny slipping, we chose to make a play.”
The 6-foot-6, 203-pound Weems was surprised by his sudden slip in the draft. He can’t explain the tumble, only that he’s happy to land in Denver.
Not that he knows any of the Nuggets—yet.
“I’m looking forward to meeting all of them,” Weems said. “I’ve watched a few games.”
Overall impressions?
“They’re really good,” Weems said.
Denver traded out of the draft Wednesday, sending its spot at No. 20 to the Charlotte Bobcats for a future, protected first-round selection. The fact that Denver has two potential first-round picks next season was one of the reasons they decided to surrender their second rounder in ’09.
“The residue of that made it easier to make a play like this,” Warkentien said.
Weems thinks his attention to defense could help him land a spot on the roster and eventually playing time.
“I’m a very good defender,” said Weems, who plans to arrive in the Mile High City next week and will play with the team in the summer league in Las Vegas. “I just have to go in there and play hard—show them I can play, show them I can compete.”
Weems, who will turn 22 next month, averaged 15 points a game last season for the Razorbacks, and was named to the all-Southeastern Conference team.
He’s known for his quick first step to the hoop, and compares his game to Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers.
“He (Iguodala) has great athleticism, can get up and down the floor. He can slash,” Weems said.
Sounds like a description of Weems.
“He’s so quick and so big and jumps so high,” Warkentien said. “How are you going to keep him out of the middle?”
Weems can definitely leap, winning the dunk contest held during the Final Four weekend.
“I had a couple of nice dunks,” he said of his performance.
Just don’t anoint him the title of best dunker on the team quite yet.
“He and J.R. (Smith) might have a nice contest or two,” said Rex Chapman, the vice president of player personnel.
Chapman received a good scouting report on Weems from Arkansas coach John Pelphrey, who Chapman played hoops with at Kentucky.
“We spoke with (Pelphrey) many times over the last few months,” Chapman said. “Most importantly, Sonny Weems is a great kid … one we feel has a chance to bring something important to the team.”
Notes:@ Denver made a qualifying offer on J.R. Smith, who’s a restricted free agent. The guard can sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Nuggets now have the right of first refusal. Smith averaged 12.3 points a game last season.
