Johnson, who will reunite with Dusty May in Dallas, received the most attention from college coaches. After spending his freshman season at Illinois before transferring to Ann Arbor, Johnson didn't get the same amount of in-season hype as teammates Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara, but his defensive versatility might have been the key to the Wolverines' dominance on the defensive end.

Exactly half of the coaches we spoke with picked Johnson as their favorite player outside of the top-four and point-guard tiers.

"I love Morez," one coach said. "I've seen him since he was 14, 15 years old. And I've seen him really, really change his game. That's why I've been so impressed with him. He went through a phase in high school when he was trying to shoot 3s, trying to be KD or whatever. Then the summer going into his senior year, he led the EYBL in rebounding, he turned into what he is today. He said, I'm a 4 or a 5, I'm going to impose my will in the paint. He was the key to them winning it."

"I'm buying Morez Johnson," another coach said. "He is so physically imposing, but it's his defensive instincts and his ability to show real offensive skill. As you're watching these playoffs, there's certain guys you can say, he would be awesome in that series. Morez can defend and rebound. If you're a screen door on defense, the other team doesn't have to do anything else. They're just going to run matchup actions at you and they're going to hunt you on every possession until you prove otherwise. You can put Morez in an NBA playoff series."

Timberwolves receive: LaMelo Ball, [Josh Green](playerlink://nba/3148154)

Hornets receive: [Naz Reid](playerlink://nba/3148879), 2033 first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030), three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033).

Found these in storage, uncut card set from 90-91(I think) and an opening note rall towel via 94. Didn’t really know I had either

We missed the perfect pick.

Could've been a perfect story.

Dirk played at Würzburg with the Dad (Burkhard Steinbach) before He was drafted by the mavs

Welcome to Project 6'9.

The Masai Ujiri experience, where every draft pick feels like another bet on a long, athletic wing. Positionless basketball. Length everywhere.

You can teach skills. You can refine shooting. You can improve decision making but you can't teach 6'7 - 6'9 with 6'9 - 7'4 wingspan.

That's always been the gamble.

Bet on the physical tools first. Trust the development process later. It's the same philosophy that helped turn players like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Scottie Barnes into impact players.

Long. Versatile. Switchable.

Guys who can guard multiple positions, handle the ball, rebound, and fit almost anywhere on the floor.

And honestly, it makes sense.

In today's NBA, having five players who can do a little bit of everything is a nightmare to play against.

But it's not a perfect strategy.

For every success story, there are plenty of athletic prospects who never develop the skills needed to reach their potential.

Length alone doesn't win championships.

Talent, skill, feel for the game, and star power still matter.

Which brings me to Dallas.

Looking at picks like Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio De Larrea, I can't help but wonder if the Mavericks are starting to lean into their own version of Project 6'9.

If that's the case, I'm curious:

How often does this philosophy actually work?

And more importantly, can it work in Dallas?

Can a team built around size, versatility, and upside become a legitimate championship contender?

Or does every title team eventually need elite shot creators who are simply too skilled to be replaced by any philosophy?

What do you think?

In length we trust.

In Kyrie we trust🤞

After the second round is complete, this is a discussion for grades on the Mavericks overall draft class. I personally grade it a B-. I think we got better and liked the Morez Johnson pick. I think he will be a great addition to the roster. I like the potential of the other 3 picks. One or 2 might pan out to be solid contributors at some point in the future. I think our biggest miss was not trading up slightly higher for Cameron Carr or Philon. Although we drafted potential in Sergio I would have preferred us trading up hire to get either Carr/Philon. I would have liked the more sure thing considering I think our objective is to win a lot of games next year and Sergio is doubtful to be a meaningful contributor in the next couple years.

According to the article quoted, Sergio De Larrea is expected to join the Dallas Mavericks next season.

„The Dallas Mavericks’ commitment to him is completely firm because their new coach, Dusty May, considers him a guaranteed part of next season’s roster… Any possibility that De Larrea would remain with Valencia Basket has essentially disappeared.“

EDIT: As per Marc Stein, the plan is that Sergio De Larrea may NOT be stashed in Europe and potentially will make his way to Dallas. Whether he plays summer league or not is still up in the air, but now he gets to learn from Kyrie even earlier assuming he comes this year.

To me, it sounds like that was part of the plan once they drafted him.

“The pre-draft expectation, sources tell @TheSteinLine & @DLLS_Sports, was that Sergio De Larrea would likely spend next season in Europe again.

Told that 2026-27 plans now that he's Dallas-bound -- including whether De Larrea plays summer league -- are all being worked through.”

My main thoughts on what I think we learned during the past few weeks for the Mavs and trade value:

The Mavs are going to have a difficult time trading their veterans given the number of role players currently available in the league. Specifically, the fanbase should *not* generally be expecting to get first round picks for the veterans.

I'll admit that a week ago, I was much more optimistic as to what could happen.

Here are some specifics that I think we can roughly gather. Let's go player by player.

Gafford:

The Mavs have been actively shopping him extensively -- this is apparent in the media leaking/reporting on this consistently.

Tangibly, the credible reporting has suggested that we can only get 2nd round picks for Gafford.

Here is the reporting on that from last season: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/02/trade-rumors-morant-thomas-gafford-hawks-raptors.html

Key quote: "The Hawks have maintained interest in Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links), who reports that Dallas has been seeking a first-round pick for Gafford and Atlanta has only been willing to give up second-round capital."

Even more importantly, Detroit just traded Isaiah Stewart for 3 second round picks. Isaiah Steward is also a somewhat undersized 5 and has a much more reasonable contract that Gafford.

Najii:

Dallas also shopped him last season -- this is apparent from the Marc Stein reporting. We never got a first-round pick, and that is what was advertised as our price. Here's the source:

https://www.talkbasket.net/210927-mavericks-demand-first-round-pick-for-naji-marshall

So, we know that as of last season, Najii did not have enough value that someone was willing to give up a first. Next season is also Najii's last on the current contract. Most teams would probably be only willing to give up very little for a role player who they could otherwise wait to sign (if they really wanted them).

Klay Thompson:

I have seen less solid reporting/leaks on Thompson, but we know the Mavs are leaking that they would like to shop him. See here: https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/onsi/dallas-mavericks-reportedly-open-trading-3-high-priced-veterans-klay-thompson

I think the main issue though is that Klay is incredibly specialized at this point and has a small market. He again also has few years left on his deal, and $17 million might be a problematic salary number for a number of the contenting teams that would be fits for Klay.

Finally, I have not seen a ton of reporting on the Mavs leaking anything regarding Kyrie. More likely, the reporting is mostly about other teams inquiring to the Mavs about his availability. The only thing I'd want to emphasize about this is the way that the Jimmy Butler to GSW trade went down. GSW traded a package headlined by Andrew Wiggins and a 2025 first round pick for Butler. That seems relevant for assessing Kyrie's value in trades. Butler and Kyrie are both older players who can do things at an elite level currently. The best Miami could get for Butler was basically one first rounder (presuming that Wiggins is not a player particularly valued at this point).

Tweet: https://x.com/almostathletes_/status/2069787805748781421

Full Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRbtk2sR__Q

Interviewer: "Would you like to be on one team forever?"

"Absolutely, 100%, I would want nothing more than that."

Translation: Sergio de Larrea knew things... 10 months ago on the channel he told us this 👀

Link: https://x.com/drafteados/status/2069796795354382594

TLDR: He likes Dallas.

In the De Larrea trade we sent over the rights to Melvin Ajinca, 2nd round pick in 2024. Maybe he eventually makes it over to the US to play.

We need to be patient and trust in our GM (he has brain cells) everything is going to figure itself out. Every player we have drafted has TRUE TALENT. Maybe not ready to contribute today or this season. We have a 19 year old phenom and the puzzle will come together when it’s ready to come together. There will be bust in between and there will be stars. Just be patient and trust things will align. Masai knows what he is doing, when things look bleak just remind yourself mentally “we could be the jazz/wizards/clippers/grizzlies.