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Why Mike Muscala is Ideal Fit on Brooklyn Nets

By Christian Milcos

Nov 30, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the Super Mario Brothers tattoo on the shoulder of Atlanta Hawks forward Mike Muscala against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Hawks 109-107. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the Super Mario Brothers tattoo on the shoulder of Atlanta Hawks forward Mike Muscala against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Hawks 109-107. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 30, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the Super Mario Brothers tattoo on the shoulder of Atlanta Hawks forward Mike Muscala against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Hawks 109-107. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the Super Mario Brothers tattoo on the shoulder of Atlanta Hawks forward Mike Muscala against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Hawks 109-107. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Atlanta Hawks big man Mike Muscala is set to hit the open market this July. The seven-footer has yet to get a true NBA opportunity, which could come on the Brooklyn Nets.

Muscala, or “Moose,” as some have previously called him, attended Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He won two Patriot League Player of the Year awards while playing for the Bison, and likely would’ve won a third if not for Lehigh’s CJ McCollum. He averaged a double-double in his senior year while leading Bucknell to an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Securing an 11 seed is quite an accomplishment. Mid-majors from the Patriot League are traditionally awarded 15 or 16 seeds in the big dance.

Muscala was drafted with the 42nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He became only the third Patriot League alum to ever accomplish this feat. Instead of joining the Atlanta Hawks that fall, Muscala made a sneaky, brilliant move in opting to spend a year playing professionally overseas. This allowed him to develop against tough competition and truly prove that he was not simply putting up inflated stats in a weak conference while in college.

Muscala finally inked a multi-year contract with the Hawks late in his rookie season. He was even able to appear in a handful of games before Atlanta was eliminated in the first round of the 2014 Playoffs.

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Muscala has improved in every one of his four seasons with the Hawks. He has seen more court time every year and averaged a career-high 17.7 minutes a contest this past season. He was a fixture off Mike Budenholzer for a majority of the year.

Yet, for a larger part of his NBA career, Muscala has struggled to find consistent minutes. Even though he was a valuable role player for the 43-win Hawks this season, there was a surprising stretch of games in which he did not see the court. Prior to the 2016-17 season, Coach Budenholzer was extremely streaky with Moose’s minutes. There would be a sequence of 10 games in which he would consistently play 20 minutes a contest, followed by a dozen games in which he would be glued to the bench.