NBA Mock Draft: DeAndre Ayton joins the Hawks

Musa is the rare guy who matches scoring skill with offensive motor, and it takes his game to another level.

He’s averaging 12.5 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent from 3. He looks like a perfect microwave scorer, and he’s big enough for that to be an advantage. When it’s Austin Rivers doing this stuff, you worry that he might be more valuable at his size as a better playmaker. But Musa is 6-foot-9 and he can shoot 3s, meaning he brings some of the same value on offense as someone like Michael Porter Jr.

I mean, Michael Beasley took over a fourth quarter in December of TWO-THOUSAND-SEVENTEEN. That type of guy still has value, and with Musa already this productive as a young professional in Croatia, there’s a solid bet that his defense and versatility will continue to build.

I can’t shake the Danny Green comparison offensively, and I mean that as a compliment, though it used to be more derogatory. Green in 2017 is a fully capable offensive do-it-all who uses the threat of his shot to open up space. Only recently did he develop the ability to take advantage of that space himself, and it has made life easier for the Spurs on offense.

A player like Musa, who can fill that role as a forward, is the type of modern scorer who opens up so much for an offense.