I don't think he is weak, per se. His body is similiar to that of Trevor Ariza and Kevin Durant. I don't mean to say he is tall and lanky, but his muscles just show little definition. That doesn't mean he can't ball. Martin is going to be awesome next year.
On a team that has Yao, Brooks, and potentially Bosh I'd rather have the quiet scorer than the iso player any day. I spent too many years watching the great iso play of McGrady get us nowhere.
Since when is versatility a sign that you're a better player? I already mentioned this in the OP. Johnson basically bricks 3 shots more than Martin per game. That translates to 3+ less points per game. Or the difference between a 50 win team and a 40 win team. If "completeness" is what you seek in a player, than Iggy should be getting more money than Melo. Try again once you learn what PER is.
One thing I can tell you is that Morey did not go through all this struggle for all these years to get Martin if he's going to trade him 6 months later. He will not be traded.
I think u r right, Kevin is way better scorer than JJ, but the only thing that put JJ over Kevin is his rebounding average and his assist average. on the other hand JJ is a ball chucker he needs the ball in his hands the whole time in order for him to score and that's what put Kevin over JJ in the offensive end bcuz Kevin can score without having the ball in his hands all the time.
I'm no stat geek but I'm pretty sure PER doesn't take D into account. Why else would Battier have pathetic PER? PER has defensive rebs, steals and blocks but those aren't really indicators of good D.
If the Houston Rockets play the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA finals... Kevin Martin will be a defensive liability as he has to guard Joe Johnson.
Nope, Trevor Ariza would do that. Martin would guard Marvin... I do agree that our backcourt is very crappy and small on defense, and that we may need an adjustment...
Battier has pathetic PER because man defense is not represented in PER. But there's more to defense than just man-to-man defense. And those ARE represented(not fully, but at least partially) through rebounds/blocks/steals. Unless you can tell me that Joe Johnson plays shutdown defense for the Hawks, then his value is not wholly misrepresented by PER. The guy's not Kobe or Lebron. He may be better than Martin on D, but he's hardly a two-way player. Not sure why you don't like block/rebounds/steals stats as indicators of good D. Top defenders in the game like the Dream, Big Ben, Deke are all among the best when it comes to counting stats too.
If Joe Johnson also has to guard Martin, then he's not going to have energy on the offensive end. Not to mention he'll likely be in foul trouble real quick.
Kevin Martin can get points. Joe Johnson can create shots. Plus play defense. Joe Johnson is better all around player.
