The Brooklyn Nets, an organization that (in recent seasons) have relied on developing talent and finding diamonds in the rough for their rebuild, with the more famous examples being D’Angelo Russel, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris and among others, who have been amazing for Nets fans.
This season has been a pleasant surprise; not only do the Nets have control of their draft pick (after mortgaging their future to the Celtics, which yielded Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to boot) but they’re also in the playoff hunt as a 6th with a record of 36-34 (as of March 15, 2019). The organization built a culture that relies on brotherhood, support, honesty and integrity, with Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson leading the way. The young bloods especially, have said nothing but praise for the atmosphere Markinson had built for the past few seasons.
Before we move on, let me just say that as a Nets fan who is currently making this article, I have been pleasantly surprised by Rodions Kurucs, the 40th pick of the 2018 draft. Any Nets fans know that Kurucs is probably the latest gem founded by Sean Marks and developed by Kenny Atkinson. Listed at 6’9 ft and weighing at 210 lbs, he has the size to be the prototypical 4 the organization has been looking for ever since they implemented their fast paced, 3-point heavy system that relied on stretching the floor from 1-4 (Jarrett Allen doesn’t really the stretch the floor as a 5 but that’s not his role as of now). For all intents and purposes, he could be the future stretch 4 that the Nets have been looking for, and that’s fine by me.
Yet we shouldn’t forget about the 29th pick, Dzanan Musa, who is also 6’9 and weighs around 195 lbs. Haven’t heard of him? I’m not really surprised considering he has only appeared in 8 games and averages around 4 minutes per game (mostly in garbage time). To give you some insights, he’s listed as a shooting guard per basketball reference, he averages 16.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 assist and about 2.1 steals per 36 minutes. Average numbers right? Not All-Star worthy numbers but as a role player, definitely welcomed. For most of the season, he has been assigned to the Long Island Nets for developmental and rehab purposes (he’s had a few injuries here and there), and during his time with LI Nets has averaged 18.5 PTS, 6.3 REB, 3.4 AST along with a steal and 0.3 BLK per game (Credits to gleague.nba.com for the stats).
He has currently appeared in 32 games and started 30 of them, and in those 32 games one thing has stood out, the game comes naturally to him. He gets buckets, hustles for the rebounds, handles the ball well and is a serviceable defender for the Long Island Nets this G-League season. Go watch some of his highlights and see for yourself, that man can play ball like a pro.
So what I am I getting at here? Why am I making this article about some G-league player that can play good to great basketball if given the chance? Well, let me just say that Dzanan Musa (pronounced as JAH-nen Moo-suh) is a player that can play any spot in today’s NBA era.
He does a little bit of everything on the court, and is kind of the opposite of RK, in the sense that if Rodions is raw, powerful and energetic, then Dzanan is skillful, finesse and smooth. In any case, DM is someone that Nets fans should be aware of, he’s locked up for 3 more years after this season and like RK his potential is staggering considering that he’s only 19 as of today.
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