Brooklyn Nets: 5 reasons Dzanan Musa was a good pick

3. High basketball I.Q.

For all the “chucker” critiques Musa got through the pre-draft process, he’s actually quite a smart player. In Europe, you have to be smart to earn minutes, which is why Mario Hezonja barely played for Real Madrid in his teenage years.

Related to that is the fact that Musa did play significant minutes for Cedevita. This would not have been possible if he were just an inefficient chucker with tunnel vision. Musa knows how to play the game, and can actually initiate for others quite well.

This claim is evident in his pick-and-roll orchestration. He makes the right plays in the pick-and-roll, with a solid handle and scoring ability on all three levels. Additionally, he can operate as a secondary ball-handler, which the Nets can always use more of in their multi-pronged attack. He even averaged 1.9 assists in only 23.1 minutes per game, which is impressive considering his specialized role.

This intelligence also translates off the ball, when he must make timely cuts and spot up efficiently. Musa actually spotted up on 23 percent of all his possessions, which is impressive when considering how much he had the ball in his hands.

He could always use work in that department, but he makes the right plays for the most part. He is one of the smarter players in the draft simply because of the environment he played in.