Sonny Weems’ wait during the NBA draft wasn’t that long Thursday night, but he may be waiting a bit longer to learn about his final team destination.

The Arkansas forward was picked up early in the second round of the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls with the 39 th overall pick. The Bulls, however, are expected to trade the rights to Weems to another team.

The Denver Post reported late Thursday that Weems was dealt to the Denver Nuggets for a secondround pick in 2009.

For now, Weems joins the draft’s No. 1 overall pick, Memphis point guard Derrick Rose in Chicago. The former Arkansas swingman became the Razorbacks’ 37 th NBA draftee in their history, and third former Razorback to be selected in the draft in the last seven years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Weems was predicted by most NBA mock draft services as a midsecond round selection before his early-second round selection Thursday. NBA. com consensus predictions, based off several popular mock draft services, had Weems going no higher than No. 41 to the Indiana Pacers, according to predictions on Wednesday.

Questions about Weems ’ stiffness on offensive movement, and lack of a stellar defensive presence in college, surrounded the 6-foot-6 athletic guard, who garnered an All-SEC selection as a senior last season.

“ He’s got the tools, ” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said after Weems ’ selection. “ He just needs to sharpen them up a little bit. ”

Bilas later added that Weems needed to be a “ more focused defender. ”

“ He’s going to have to be a tough guy and use his athleticism, especially on the defensive end, ” Bilas said.

One NBA scout with an Eastern Conference team said on Tuesday that Weems ’ lack of a defensive presence may be a cause for concern for some teams looking for a long and athletic shooting guard in the second round.

Weems averaged 15 points per game last season to go along with 2. 6 assists and 2. 8 turnovers a game. The West Memphis native attempted 12. 5 shots on average and hit 46. 4 percent of those attempts.

In a pre-draft camp in Orlando, Weems outworked 78 players in drills, scoring the highest marks in lane agility (10. 58 seconds ) and three-quarter court sprint (2. 96 seconds ) in Orlando. He also played in several games at the camp against other NBA hopefuls and scored in double digits twice.

Weems garnered added attention from scouts and NBA teams after his 12-of-14 shooting performance against Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March. He finished the night with 31 points, making him the first Razorback since Corliss Williamson, who finished with 30 points March 11, 1994 against Georgia, to score 30 points or more in the month of March.

If he is not traded, Weems will compete for a spot on the Bulls’ roster, which now contains eight other guards on the 17-man lineup. With a contract, Weems, at 6-6, would be one of the tallest guards on the team.

Weems ’ second-round selection by the Bulls on Thursday, however, does not guarantee him a contract like that of a first-round pick. Some NBA teams wait until a second-round selection has participated in the NBA summer league to make a decision. During that time, the organization owns the rights to the player, making it impossible for Weems or any other second-round selection to sign with another team.

Weems was selected Thursday before such notables as Georgetown forward Patrick Ewing Jr., Alabama forward Richard Hendrix, and Memphis shooting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who was picked up by New Jersey with the 40 th pick.

Weems worked out against Douglas-Roberts at a New Orleans Hornets workout Tuesday.