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RJ Barrett grew up a Raptors fan. At his introductory news conference, he not only name-checked franchise icon DeMar DeRozan, but Spanish point guard Jose Calderon, and the 2012 trade for Kyle Lowry. In a later interview, he casually referenced Sonny Weems, who started 28 games for a Raptors team that went 22-60 in 2010-11. His father, Rowan Barrett, now the GM of Canada’s senior men’s national team, used to bring RJ to games, introducing him to players and familiarizing him with the league he’d been focussed on making since he put it at the top of the vision board he had framed as 12-year-old. “It was a blessing,” Barrett says of being traded home. But still a question nagged at him, one to do with timing rather than process or destination. It’s rare for big moves to go down in December, more than two months before the February trade deadline. “That’s what surprised me the most,” he says almost a year later. “I’m the first trade of the year. Like, why are we getting traded right now?”
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American basketball player Sonny Weems has been subjected to racial abuse from fans while playing in China. In a video circulating on social media, fans can be heard repeatedly shouting the "N" word and "get out of China" at 35-year-old Weems, who plays for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association.
In a statement on Friday, the CBA said it has a "zero-tolerance attitude toward any discriminatory words or deeds," and in an open letter to fans asked them not to engage in "uncivilized behavior" and "vulgar words." "Whether on or off the field, fans should watch the game in a civilized manner, respect each other, do not do anything that damages the reputation of the team," reads the letter.
But the work doesn’t always show if the environment is too big. Poole needed the G League as a rookie and, in one of the Warriors’ healthier stretches with Russell back, they assigned Poole there. Weems was in his first season coaching Santa Cruz. “He practiced at least twice with us,” Weems said. “The (three) games came quickly. He fit in. The guys appreciated him coming in and not trying to shoot every time. He was a playmaker, he was a second-side ballhandler. He took really efficient shots — good 3s, catch and shoot, didn’t shoot a whole lot off the dribble and he got to the basket, got to the foul line.”
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As of now, among those who have returned to China are Lin, Ty Lawson, Donatas Motiejunas, Sonny Weems, Kyle Fogg, Pooh Jeter, Marko Todorovic, Antonio Blakeney and Ekpe Udoh. More are expected to return in upcoming days. Hamed Haddadi -- a former NBA center and a veteran of the CBA -- is currently held up in his home country of Iran, where the pandemic has also hit hard. His team Nanjing is working with the Chinese Embassy in Iran to aid in his return.
American swingman Sonny Weems has agreed to a deal with Chinese side Guangdong, a source told Sportando. This will represent a return in China for Weems, who already started last season in CBA with Zhejiang. Weems finished last season with Anadolu Efes, averaging 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in Turkish League.
Won’t you explore NBA options during the summer? Sonny Weems: “No. I mean… maybe…” You seem uncertain. Why is that? Sonny Weems:“Because I’m not really too stressed about going in the NBA. I’ve been there. It’s all political. I’m really comfortable in Europe. So there might be a destination where I belong here. I’ve established myself in Europe.”
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