Dzanan Musa is not from around here. When the Bosnian boy joined the Nets, he didn’t know much about the U.S., and less about the racial injustices that were prevalent here.
But when he and his girlfriend saw the video of George Floyd’s murder on May 25 at the hands of the police, it opened their eyes. And filled with tears.
“My girlfriend called me and she cried because of it,” Musa said. “He was very emotional about it. He told me, “Did you see what happened?” I didn’t do it, because I was practicing. I’m not very much on social media; the last three or four months I tried not to do it. But when I saw it, it was terrible, “Musa said through Zoom on Monday.
“Of course, it’s just terrible from my perspective. First of all, I’m not from America and see that the brutality that happened was very painful for me. I was with Black Lives Matter all day. I will change my clothes in Orlando to Equality and Peace. “
While the NBA season was closed due to COVID-19, about half of the players left the city, while the other half lived in Brooklyn. The latter group returned with excellence, including Musa, who chose not to fly home to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“You take Garrett Temple, Joe Harris, [Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot]”Dzanan Musa, in the gym you can see the difference in the level of their work,” said interim coach Jacque Vaughn. “They have different foundations and bases below them.”
With Kyrie Irving injured and Spencer Dinwiddie in doubt after a positive corona virus test, the Nets signed Tyler Johnson and had high hopes for Chris Chiozza. So the perimeter minutes will not be guaranteed for Moses, 21. He has to get it, the process has already begun.
“I decided to stay in Brooklyn and try to get as much better as possible,” Musa said. “I tried to gain weight, try to get stronger at home, and then when the training facility opened, I first got to the gym trying to get Jacque’s attention to let her know that I was ready for anything.”
Musa averaged only 4.2 points in 35 matches with 36 percent shots, and hasn’t played since February 5, before the All-Star break.
“In a bad match, I thought too much. I tried to impress everyone. I tried to do too many things, “Musa said.
“I have matured from that point, from say February until now, just to realize what my role is in the team: To provide energy, to make the right play and only to help my team win, not to think about individual statistics too much.”
