Idled NBAers look for ways to fill their time

Sonny Weems, the NBA swingman who played the past two seasons in Toronto, was waxing philosophical on Twitter the other day.

“Limitations live only in our minds,” went one of Weems’s posts, a motivational quote attributed to U.S. cyclist Jamie Paolinetti. “But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”

There’s a strong possibility that Weems, one of a handful of U.S.-based pro hoopsters conjuring profitable career choices in the midst of an NBA lockout, will spend the coming season playing in Europe. Sources say Weems is expected to sign a one-year deal to play with Lithuania’s BC Zalgiris in the coming days.

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.