That bit about the minutes played is kind of critical though.
Peja got better his 3rd year from his second, but mostly we just made him a full time starter and the big minutes explained the big bump in scoring.
Per 36 minutes:
Peja 2nd year: 18.1pts 5.7reb 2.2ast
Peja 3rd year: 18.9pts 5.4reb 2.0ast
Ben 2nd year: 12.6pts 3.4reb 1.7ast
So with Ben to get any sort of Peja explosion its not just about giving him more minutes -- 2nd year Peja was far more prolific. With Ben you actually either need Ben to significantly improve again, or you need an entire team restructuring/offense built around him, which isn't going to happen. I still see no point in getting rid of him though. he;s one of 4 pieces that mostly make sense. I would however trade for a steady veteran shooter to pair with him though. He continues to struggle, I'd give the minutes to the steady guy. Just too much pressure being put on the Big 2 1/2 every night. Need trustworthy help.
Yes but...
Peja 2nd year: FGA per game 9.7.....FG% .448
Ben 2nd year: FGA per game 9.5.....FG% .448
The per36 numbers don't mean a whole lot actually when they're both taking the same number of shots. Ben may be on the floor a lot more in his 2nd year than Peja was, but it's not like he's getting substantially more looks and missing them. Their FG% and shot attempts per game are nearly identical. Also, while Ben may currently be shooting 35% on threes for the season, he's up to 41% now in his last five games and his season average was sitting at 42% at the end of December so there's still a decent chance (with 2 1/2 months left in the season) he ends up having a better overall shooting season than Peja did in year two.