I'd think the best way to make such a point is not by choosing as a comparison someone who plays a different position.
Rather, pick several other players who look very similar and play the same position, but who would be "undervalued" by CBers.
Like, you could show that Green's per-36 numbers last year were not too different from numbers posted in recent years by players like Matt Barnes, Martell Webster, Dorell Wright, DeMarre Carroll and Marvin Williams.
For example.
I chose Lin because there has been a lot of discussion about him on this board recently.
How about Anthony Morrow
15.8 p, 1.6 a, 3.8 r, 0.9 s, 0.2 b, TS% of 57.0, DRTG 114
Obviously not as good as Green, but not so far off either. He is also basically the same age with the same experience level.
or maybe Charlie Villanueva (a 3/4 combo though he leans more to the 4 than Green)
17.9 p, 1.5 a, 8.0 r, 0.9 s, 0.9 b, TS% of 52.3, DRTG 109
The problem is not who you pick to compare to, the problem is how you treat Green's production. It's all about context. Using per-36 stats, you can probably argue that the 08-09 version of Nate Robinson was a bigger star than Paul Pierce has ever been, for example.
Using players like Charlie V and Anthony Morrow as examples just goes further to undermine Moranis's point.
Neither of those guys can play a lick of defense, and they are almost entirely jumpshooters.
Green has a more versatile offensive game that's less dependent on other players, and he has shown that he can be at the very least an average defender for his position. He has the tools to be an excellent defender for his position.
Mystery Player:
Per-36
11.4 pts 5.1 reb 1.4 ast .7 stl, .487 / .442 / .733 shooting.
Looks like a solid starting shooting guard to me!
So I wonder how much we'd have to trade the Spurs to get Matt Bonner?
Morrow and Charlie V are definitely poor defenders, but that is evident by their awful DRTG. Morrow has however averaged 25 minutes a game for his career (Villanueva is slightly less than that), so it isn't like they are bit players playing 15 minutes a game like Bonner (whose career per-36 are better than the numbers he had last year for San An playing 13 minutes a game).
Villanueva's best season was 27 minutes, 16.2 p, 6.7 r, and 1.8 a. Better than any season Jeff Green has had in his entire career.
This notion that Jeff Green is going to be something he has never been is just silly.
You're still going by traditional box score numbers.
Villanueva's "best season" also involved him giving away more ont he defensive side on the court than he gave his team on the offensive side of the court.
There's a reason Charlie V has been stuck to a bench the past few years. He's not a very good player. A good scorer, sure, but not a very good player.
Like Koz said, just because people expect Green to be a solid to above averager starter at the 3 doesn't mean they are "expecting something he's never done before." I think his performance this past season proved that he can do that. The question is how consistently he can do it. I will happily concede that we don't have a clear answer to that yet. But I think we're going to find out.
Now, for those who think Green will be an All-Star, or that he'll be the second coming of Paul Pierce, I agree with you. That's silly.
But can Green give you similar offensive production to Luol Deng with less rebounding and not quite the same level of defense? Yes, I believe so. Probably a bit better, in fact.