Sonny Weems can't wait to play in Europe

Last week's decision by Sonny Weems to leave the NBA for a season to play in Lithuania wasn't difficult at all.

In fact, it was a rather easy one for the West Memphis native. Weems' one-year deal with Zalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania will keep him in Europe for the entire season, regardless of how long the lockout lasts.

"It was very easy because I want to play basketball," Weems said Monday. "I can't sit around and wait and see what the NBA is going to do. You never know. They may lock out the whole season and a lot of players will be scrambling, trying to go overseas. I went ahead and took the deal."

"I think it's a great situation for me because with me being a free agent this year, if the lockout ends Dec. 1, we don't have time to negotiate free agency and I'd have to play for the qualifying offer, which me and my agent decided we didn't want to do," Weems said. "They wouldn't have enough time to negotiate a deal for me, so my best bet was to go overseas and boost my stock up a little bit because the NBA pays a lot of attention to overseas players.

"Me playing over there will give me great experience."

"Today, this is a sweetheart deal," Montgomery told the Wall Street Journal. "If the NBA comes to terms next week, maybe we wouldn't be as excited about it. But you won't find many deals like this in three weeks."

"It's something me and my agent talked about for weeks," Weems said. "It's going to help me a lot. I've had a lot of GMs contact my agent and say it's a great move for me.

"It's just better for me to go over there and play five-on-five competitive basketball while everybody else is over here just watching. It's a great opportunity for me and I'm looking forward to it."