A scouting report on NBA draft prospect Morez Johnson Jr.:
Position: Power forward/Center
Height: 6-foot-9 (without shoes)
Weight: 251 pounds
College: Michigan
Strengths
After transferring from Illinois, Johnson started every game his sophomore season for a 37-3 national champion Michigan team. He averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per contest.
The Wolverines had three projected first-round picks in Johnson, Aday Mara and Yaxel Lendeborg. Johnson displayed his feel for how to play alongside NBA-level talent. That included his movement off of Mara, who has serious passing chops at 7-foot-3.
Johnson is a high-effort defender with a ton of intriguing tools.
“He was the best all-around defender on one of the three best defenses in the nation, and that included Lendeborg and Mara,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie wrote in his May 10 mock draft. “He’s tremendous as a post defender, flying around in help and showcasing switchability on the perimeter.”
Offensively, Johnson is a self-aware, efficient player who shot 62.3 percent from the floor and 78.2 percent at the foul line last season. He knows he’s best in the paint and is eager to do damage there. Johnson is comfortable scoring a variety of layups through contact. He’s hard to stop when he’s rumbling downhill toward the rim, whether that’s in transition, as a cutter or as a roller.
Rebounding is one of Johnson’s many statistical bright spots. He logged 53 minutes over Michigan’s two Final Four games and notched 17 rebounds (nine offensive). The 20-year-old has a knack for finding the ball and the hunger to beat everyone to it.
We’ll see whether Johnson can play good center minutes at the next level, but there’s no question he possesses NBA-caliber strength. He also posted some positive physical numbers at the draft combine, including a 7-foot-3.5 wingspan, 33.5-inch standing vertical leap and 39-inch maximum vertical.
Weaknesses
For the time being, Johnson is close to a non-shooter.
He attempted zero three-pointers as a freshman and 35 as a sophomore, knocking down 12 (34.3 percent). Johnson doesn’t have the smoothest or quickest jumper and his mechanics appear a bit inconsistent. He did work to considerably improve his shooting at Michigan, so perhaps he’ll keep growing in that department.
While Johnson also trended up as a passer, he still had more turnovers (53) than assists (48) last season. Johnson isn’t currently the sort of NBA player who will thrive in 4-on-3 situations or help an offense flow with sharp decision-making.
Johnson had foul problems at Illinois but was much better in that area last year, going from 5.7 fouls per 40 minutes to 3.7 fouls per 40.
How much and how well can Johnson play center in the NBA? If he proves capable of hanging with 7-footers and continues to successfully expand his offensive game, he’d be valuable to just about any team at both power forward and center. If he doesn’t end up checking those boxes, his path to a large role on a contender would be a tad trickier.
Fit
The Sixers could use more depth at essentially every position.
In a best-case scenario with the 22nd pick, Johnson could step right into the rotation as a versatile frontcourt player, boost the Sixers’ rebounding and physicality, and develop further with the Tyrese Maxey–VJ Edgecombe backcourt.
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