True... maybe I just synthesized the impressions of their play together rather than wins and losses... or I misremembered.
The Warriors had Ellis and Curry and their record wasn't so hot either. Both put up stellar PG type numbers (points, assists)
Are you serious? Turner shoots 39% from three, Wesley shoots 38% while shooting three times the amount Turner does. Turner is not better at defense. That's ridiculous. Turner's PER has gone from 10.8 to 12.6 to this year's 13.1. Wesley's PER was 14.1 last year, and increased to 14.5 this year. Turner is fucking awful on offense, his TS% is 49%, Wesley's is 57%.. I have no idea what would possess ANYONE to want Turner over Matthews.
Per ESPN today (Via Hoopshype) Philly is making calls in order to gauge the value of Evans. Supposedly they want to shake things up. I bet it would take Wes or JJ to get him. Is he worth either one? I think he is worth JJ if we are going to lose him. When I see him play this year he often looks good, but other times he disappears. But to be honest I rarely watch a 76er game to really know. (And I refuse to look at someone's PER to evaluate them)
Maybe Turner would flourish under Stotts? He seems to have helped Nicolas (or maybe Nicolas was always capable of this?) and Lillard certainly hasn't suffered in his rookie season. I don't know if I'd be keen to trade Wesley to get him, but I'd certainly trade Hickson for him. Is that enough for Philly? I don't know ...
You aren't getting Evan Turner for either Wes or JJ. Even if you threw them both in you would probably have to give them a pick for them to think about it. (And have PHI throw in some undesirable contract to match deals) Turner is a Batum-light clone so I think you just keep what you have. Wes brings different skills.
IMHO The problem isn't Matthews specifically, it's starting both Matthews AND Batum in the in the same lineup. They are both fairly streaky spot up shooters that don't slash. It's an easy lineup to defend and is only formidable when they are both bombing like crazy from distance. Since Batum isn't going to the bench, I'd like to see the Blazers add a veteran that can get easy points and keep the defense away from dogging LA and Lillard. Free agent options in the summer are Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans, Iguodala or OJ Mayo.
I personally wouldn't trade Wes for Evans straight up. I loved Turner coming out of the draft but after talking to a few Philly fans they complain about Turner disappearing for large parts of games it just doesn't make me want to play him. He has a good 3% but he doesn't take many of them. You know what Wes is going to give you, he isn't going to suddenly expand his game and be better, what we have in Wes is what we will get which is a really good defender, streaky but good 3 point shooter and leadership. Turner has more potential but its a risk to trade for him, especially since it will cost more then Wes for him. If we had a backup SG that could play if Turner sucked i'd be more apt to think of dealing Wes, but we don't so if Turner blows in our system it leaves a large hole that we then have to plug in FA.
My thoughts on Evan Turner on PDX are sort of like Jarret Jack. We've gone over how Turner isn't the most efficient guy in the league, but his value comes in that he's a 6'7 guy who can create offense for himself and others. Maybe he has a crappier PER than Wes Matthews, but defensive/spot up 3 pt shooting specialist role players at SG/SF aren't hard to find compared to a wing who excels in ball handling, passing, probing the defense, getting to the rim, rebounding, etc. That said, if you add an Evan Turner you're just going to have to take the ball out of Lillard and Batum's hands more. You're set at 1 and 3 moving forward. Why further dilute their touches (and LMA's) with a guy who needs the ball to be effective, and probably isn't any more efficient creating than they are? Its a talent upgrade, but logically I just don't see the benefit unless he's coming off the bench, which also doesn't make much sense for other reasons. With Lillard as a the primary ball handler, LMA as the main FGA/game guy, and Batum getting his share of touches, a role playing SG who will play defense, take what the defense gives him, and hit those open 3's seems like an ideal fit. Its not sexy, but replacing Wes with a guy who can't shoot and needs the ball to be effective sounds like a recipe for disaster.
I do not see any similarities with Batum. At least on offense. Batum has better range, while Turner looks to be more effective with his mid range shot. I think the duplication is Wes and Nic. I am certainly no expert on Evans but I think he , Nic and Wes would be a pretty good interchangeable trio. So what would it take? JJ plus what? yes he was the #3 pick, but he is not good enough to command a star player. The question is what are Philly's needs?
Wasn't he very very close to have a Micro-fracture surgery? With knees like him one step into the RG in a Blazer uni and not only his knees but every other Blazers knees will explode.
What happened to all the great spot up shooting 'shooting' guards? The 90's was littered with them. Dell Curry, Dale Ellis, Ricky Pierce, Hersey Hawkins, Eddie Johnson, Steve Smith, 'Thunder' Dan Majerle.
