Is Julian Wright the Next Sonny Weems?

[Built Ford Tough]

As well, despite this being his fourth season in the league, he's only 22 years old, so this continues Colangelo's recent "go young and hope for upside" trend.

 

Does Wright have upside however?

 

Much like former Raptor Joey Graham, Wright has always been a bit of an NBA enigma, a player with NBA size and athleticism that scouts have drooled over since his days at Kansas, but who simply hasn't been able to put it together consistently at either end of the court.

 

Simply put, Wright has had his chances, and hasn't produced as expected.

 

However his 12.8 minutes per game might suggest otherwise, and Julian has made it known over the past two seasons that he'd like to a get a much longer look either in NO, or elsewhere.

 

It got to the point where at the trade deadline last year via Twitter he bemoaned not getting enough of a chance and was jealous of other players who were headed off to new teams, able to start fresh.

 

Well Mr. Wright, you'll certainly get your chance here in Toronto.

 

Much like the Sonny Weems and Patrick O'Bryant situations, Wright is going to be given every opportunity in TO. At present, he and Linas Kleiza are the only real 3's on the roster, and if the Raptors go small, he'll get a shot at the 4 as well I'm sure.

 

There is a lot more to the article at this link:

 

http://www.raptorshq.com/2010/8/13/1621210/is-julian-wright-the-next-sonny#storyjump

 

I thought very little of this trade (inconsistent scrub with talent for athletic scrub with potential basically) when it happened and I still think that, but then again, I thought the trade for Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems last season was basically the exact same thing and both of those two proved me wrong with very good seasons last year.

 

Do you think Wright could possible follow in the foot steps of Sonny Weems and Amir Johnson? He is going to get minutes in Toronto that he probably wouldn't have gotten in many other cities, and a change of scenery could be what he needs.

[Real Deal]

I'm a bit biased, but I think he still has it in him to contribute as a sixth man in the league. Maybe not on the level of those that are legit starters (Manu, Terry, Crawford), but the Hornets really didn't give him that opportunity, and I felt as if they tried to play him too much like a big man.

 

If you guys are curious, go find that game he had against Denver last season. I have no idea when it was...probably February or March (second half of the season), but Wright did really well, had to defend Melo and didn't do well in that department, but still put out a good offensive game. Had another solid game near the end of the season, also.

 

I would love to see it happen. I do have my doubts, but I really think he can make something of himself. Definitely not starter material, but potentially a solid backup.