The generalized point would be that players rarely take great leaps forward in their game beyond thier early 20's -- that much is certainly true. And while I hate to evoke this name again, we has this same discussion about Peja at about this age. His potential etc. etc. But that rarely happens. Normally a guy pretty much is what he is by his 25th birthday. He may refine it, get a little more clever, may step it up a bit for his prime years, but his game isn't going to magically take on whole new aspects as a rule. That's why the old 4 yr college rookies would often come right into the league and make a big impact, because they already were the players they were going to be.
With that as a backdrop the odds of Kevin Martin ever beign as good as Iverson, or even being worthy of being mentiuoned int he same breath as Iverson, are quite low. That said, there are a couple of countervailing factors here. First, Kevin is no more than a year from having made significant improvements to his game, and just this year has made significant strides in the mental aspects of the game. If we are waiting for him to start doing things he has never done, its likely to be a long cold wait, but thinking he may still be growing at least somwwhat is not beyond the realm of possibility. And second, Iverson is 31. If Iverson is 25 obviously this isn't even a discussion -- you trade two Kevin Martins to get him. But he's 31, and frankly he's never won. You know how many 50 win years A.I. has had in 11 years? One. And that one would have to be the blueprint -- surround him with 100% defenders/hustlers and give it a whirl. But its not like he walks in as a guaranteed title contender. So maybe even if Kevin "only" turns out to be what he is -- a 20ppg secondary weapon type, well maybe you'd rather have that as a solid piece of a long term core rather than an aging star who's never gotten it done. Maybe. At least that's the point of debate.
