Re: Mercer/Battie

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

> > As for Walker, you can really say that based on this past year he is
> > worth the max?  I don't think he is.  for a player with so many skills
> > we never seem to see them that much.
> 
> Don't go there. :-)   Walker had a crappy season, but bottom line he
> could have played a lot worse and still had a more productive year
> passing and rebounding the ball than Ron Mercer.

As I've pointed out before, he's had a more productive year shooting
the ball and in terms of scoring efficiency also. If you compare Walker's
first two years to Ron Mercer's, there's no way you conclude that Mercer
deserves more money than Walker. Some people will say, "but power forwards
are expected to rebound better and shoot at a higher percentage than 
shooting guards." That is exactly why there are very few shooting guards
getting paid big contracts. "But what about Jordan?" As always, the 
exception to the rule. Jordan transcended the position. Now that he's 
retired, it's hard to find any shooting guard that is the MVP of a good team.