When the Dallas Mavericks hired Dusty May to be their next head coach, people thought they might follow through and take one of his players from Michigan in the 2026 NBA Draft.
That’s exactly what happened, as they selected Morez Johnson Jr. 9th overall.
Immediately, a lot of people questioned Johnson’s fit alongside Cooper Flagg, as he’s more of a post player in a power forward’s body, and the perimeter game hasn’t developed just yet. However, it seems like Dusty May is confident in Johnson’s ability to translate to the NBA.
“It’s positional versatility, and I think when you look at Masai [Ujiri]’s teams that he built with his staff in Toronto, we’re starting to resemble that, where we’re gonna have that positional size that’s switchable,” May started.
“We’ll have to continue to add to our skill sets, but Morez checks a lot of boxes. He has the NBA physicality and durability to play right now. He also is very self-aware, where he knows who is and how he has to play to be at his best and to help the team function at its best.
“But he’s also on Cooper’s timeline, and he’s a great screener, he’s a great connector, and someone that can guard multiple positions.”
Dusty May reveals how Morez Johnson Jr. fits the Mavs roster puzzle. pic.twitter.com/vGPdcVaNAP
— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) July 6, 2026
Questions Remain on Morez Johnson’s Fit With Cooper Flagg
As great a defender as Morez Johnson is, the fit offensively still looks very questionable. In his lone season at Michigan (Johnson started his career at Illinois), he averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG, shooting 34.3% from three and 78.2% from the free-throw line.
However, he only attempted 35 three-pointers at Michigan, mainly living around the rim. While his percentage is solid, he attempted fewer than one per game. If he’s going to be a power forward in the NBA, that number has to go up.
His free-throw percentage and shooting form leave reasons to be optimistic that he can increase his three-point rate, but teams are going to leave him open on the perimeter until he can prove it.
They’re going to be much more concerned about stopping Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving from getting to the rim than they will be about Johnson’s shooting. He also shot 17/25 from three during the shooting drill at the NBA combine.
If Johnson plays minutes at center, which I think is likely, some of those concerns will be mitigated, but with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford on the roster, there may not be too many minutes available there.
Defensively, the fit could be tremendous. Flagg and Johnson are each athletic enough to grind opposing offenses to a halt. There’s no ignoring the pitfalls offensively, though.
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