I know that’s a big windup, but I wanted to lay the groundwork for the discussion we’re gonna have. With all that said, let me start by asking: Does the NBA have a wins-per-dollar formula, and if so, what does that look like? Seth Partnow: The short answer is “yes.” The longer answer is that it’s not that simple. First of all, projecting “player wins” is much more straightforward in baseball than in basketball because it’s far easier to measure individual contributions toward winning. A more subtle distinction is that individual production is far more role dependent in the NBA than in MLB. It’s not just the difficulty projecting playing time — though, at this point, more accurate minute projections are as large a differentiator in preseason team-win models as are better player-ability estimates — but also the degree to which a substantial shift in role or context can almost turn an individual into a completely different player. For example, Portland’s 2022-23 Jerami Grant could easily look more like Denver’s 2019-20 Jerami Grant than like Detroit’s 2020-21 or 2021-22 Jerami Grant as he moves into more of a supporting role beside Damian Lillard. With me so far?