Along with traditional, back-to-basket big men largely going extinct in the modern NBA, the league has seen sweeping changes and improvements with analytics. Gone are the days where players and teams are simply evaluated on the eye-test, much to the chagrin of some.
Over recent years the Los Angeles Lakers had developed a reputation as an organization that had not yet caught up with the technological advancements some other teams were utilizing. Last October, they hired Jason Rosenfeld as director of basketball analytics.
Prior to joining the organization Rosenfeld previously held the same role for the NBA, where he’d spent three years before making the change. Rosenfeld has also worked for the Houston Rockets, Charlotte Hornets and Shanghai Sharks in China.
He’s changing roles yet again, as according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, Rosenfeld has left the Lakers for a similar position in Major League Baseball:
I'm told the Lakers' director of basketball analytics Jason Rosenfeld has left the organization, – has moved on to an MLB related position elsewhere. Jason had joined the Lakers in October
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) April 28, 2018
Rosenthal jumping to MLB is understandable in the sense analytics have become a common tool that clubs rely on, whether on a daily basis or more macro level.
At the time of announcing the hire, the Lakers said Rosenfeld and his basketball analytics department was tasked with working closely with the basketball operations staff, as well as the coaching and training staffs, to incorporate statistical analysis and quantitative strategy into the day-to-day operations of each front office department.