If you don't know who Wayne Winston is, don't bother looking for his player profile page on ESPN.

via www.kelley.iu.edu

If you read Truehoop at all, you're already familiar with what this guy does. If not, heres an introduction. I believe theres at least 4 separate posts on Truehoop on him if you're interested. Anyway, basically what WW (can I call him that?) does is analyze lineups for NBA teams to maximize production by advising the head coach what lineups are most effective, statistically speaking. Or, at least he DID this for one team, the Dallas Mavericks. Then came this (again, courtesy of Truehoop):

"Shocking bit of news: Wayne Winston, the Indiana University professor I have quoted extensively in the last couple of weeks, and has been Mark Cuban's statistical consultant for the last nine years, just told me that his contract with the Mavericks has not been renewed. He assures me it's not related to his spilling the beans to TrueHoop. Winston has a professor job, and a book that just came out, and says he has not yet put much thought into whether or not he'll pursue work with other teams."

This is my perspective: I don't think Nate is stupid. If he's guilty of anything, its trying too hard or "over coaching." His lineups aren't responding or sputtering at different times in the games so he's throwing out different combinations to spark production. Unfortunately, its akin to throwing a bunch of eggs against a wall to see which ones don't break.

Now I know KP supposedly has his own system for collecting and interpreting statistics but it feels like he's been getting his arse kicked in that department by Houston's GM Daryl Morey as of late. At least in the "money ball" regard. WW deals specifically with lineups. He would theoretically work closely with the our coach to answer the lineup questions that are plaguing our team right now. I'm writing this from a fan's perspective of course, its possible this guy is no longer available, its possible KP already has a staff member who fills this role...but it sure doesn't look like it based on the lineups that have been thrown around lately. I know its still early and theres not a whole lot of data yet considering this roster is new, but I'm just trying to think constructively.

At the very least, if you're not familiar with the Truehoop posts I've referenced, I encourage you to go back and read them. Its not only fascinating information, the guy gives a great interview and doesn't hold back.