Nets new analytics director learning on the job

Charles Barkley be damned!  The Nets new analytics director believes in what he does and also admits that he's learning on the job, having come from a baseball background.

"For baseball, I would know what we wanted to measure, what we were exactly looking for," he said. "I’ve had to do a lot more asking – should I take this into account? But it’s been good," Glenn DuPaul tells a writer at Lehigh University, where he graduated ... last year.

He tells writer Mary Ellen Alu that there are obvious differences between the two sports --the motion of the game and the teammate effect-- the analytics can be more challenging.  Still, he thinks he can handle it.  "In the end, it’s analysis," he said. "It’s research really, to put it most simply."

DuPaul talks as well as his role in trade discussions.

"Analytics are a tool," the 22-year-old said. "The general manager has to make player personnel decisions, and he gets as much information as he can to help him," including salary, medical and scouting information. Analytics are a piece of that puzzle. You can weigh them more – or less."

• Advanced analytics, smarter basketball - Mary Ellen Alu - Lehigh University