I think you're putting waaay too much weight in BRef stats. VORP and BPM are box score stats and players like GW and RL are going to suffer (just like JB did in his first couple of seasons) because they simply don't touch the ball very much.Romeo long term and Romeo this season are 2 different things. I’m not particularly high on him long term either, but I’m primarily talking about this season. Romeo can defend some, but overall this season has been very bad. Not particularly debatable.
As I've (and others) have said multiple times, Romeo is the Cs best on-ball defender and really provides something the Cs were missing. It's no coincidence that the Cs are 7-1 since Romeo's return and it's no coincidence that the Cs have a great DRtg when Romeo is on the court. It's not particularly debatable to me that Romeo will be a key to the Cs success this year.
Just like I think they would beat the Heat if he wasn't injured last year. (Will enjoy seeing RL guard Herro when the Cs play the Heat in May).