Inside the Sixers: Jrue Holiday deal the first in Sixers' grand analytical experiment

It is fair to call 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday a guinea pig.

That's because Holiday, who on Oct. 31 at the deadline received a four-year, $41 million extension from the team with incentives that could push his package beyond $45 million, is the first Sixers player to do a deal that included the input of Aaron Barzilai, Ph.D, recently hired as director of basketball analytics.

While Sixers general manager Tony DiLeo didn't discuss specifically what Barzilai's role was in getting the contract done - the Sixers, in fact, actually made public Barzilai's hiring a few days after Holiday's deal was finished - he did say that Barzilai provided valuable insight in helping the Sixers determine things such as how close Holiday is to reaching his peak (he's got a ways to go, which is good), and at what level he might be playing three years from now (the Sixers are confident he will be at or near the upper echelon among point guards).

The world of NBA analytics is still murky to many. Most of us know that, microcosmically, it is attaching value and worth to draft picks, trades, and player value while on the court.

Barzilai was the captain of the men's basketball team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his master's degree and doctorate in mechanical engineering are from Stanford.

Before joining the Sixers, Barzilai was the sole advanced analytics consultant for the Memphis Grizzlies - a plus, said DiLeo, because Barzilai came to the Sixers with an understanding of the "makeup of an NBA organization and how it operates."

I wanted to catch up with Barzilai and have him go into much more depth about his new role. It goes against team protocol, however, to allow anyone other than DiLeo, players, coach Doug Collins, and, of course, ownership to address the media.

Without getting into the jargon of advanced statistical analysis, I wanted to find out from DiLeo how Barzilai's work would supplement what the player personnel side does as it relates to drafting, trading, and evaluating the players on the roster and in the league.

According to DiLeo, Barzilai might be able to make a huge impact in the drafting of players. He'll keep tabs on players throughout the country. DiLeo pointed to this as being invaluable because there could be a player the scouts missed who might very well fit with the Sixers.

"Everyone is going to know who the top players are," DiLeo said. "But what about the guy who might be out there that has incredible value to this team? Suppose there is a guy who makes positive plays that don't show up in the box score that can impact our team?

"We want to know who those guys are. That's something that can really help with bringing in free agents and guys at the end of the draft."

Another significant role for Barzilai will be evaluating the worth of a player and helping the Sixers to determine whether or not a player on their roster or one they are interested in is playing up to his contract. Basically, he'll act as a firewall the Sixers hope will either prevent them from adding a player not worth the money he's earning or helping the player personnel side to determine if a player they might have their eye on is potentially a bargain.

DiLeo said he knows there will be times when what the player personnel side sees and what the analytical side evaluates will differ. So a call is going to have to be made.

What then?

"I think that's the real benefit of the analytical side," DiLeo said. "In the past, when we all agreed on something, there was no voice to tell us that we might be better served looking at this another way. I think when we get there, we'll go back and reevaluate the situation. It just gives us another set of checks and balances."