By Josh Ortega The Dallas Mavericks have driven home the point this offseason: add some new faces to improve the roster.
Dallas did just that via the 2026 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn last week.
With some of the Mavs selections across the two rounds showing both new vision General Manager Mike Schmitz and new Head Coach Dusty May have for the long-term future of the team in the new front offices first draft.
Morez Johnson Jr.
was a part of Mays 2026 Michigan team that lifted the NCAA National Championship just two months ago.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia The Mavericks selected Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr.
with the ninth overall pick as its first selection of the night.
Johnson Jr.
was a part of Mays 2026 Michigan team that lifted the NCAA National Championship just two months ago.
The 6-foot 9-inch sophomore started and played in 40 games for the Wolverines during his lone season in Ann Arbor.
He averaged 13.1 points per game on 62 percent shooting while averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.
Johnson Jr.
helped Michigan secure its second national championship in 37 years with 12 points and 10 rebounds against UCONN, which was his ninth double-double of the season.
Johnson spoke about being drafted by his former college head coachs new organization after he was selected.
I was insanely shocked when I saw that Dusty was going to be the coach of the Mavs.
I did not see it coming at all and now, for him to be my coach again, Im excited, said Johnson.
Its insane we just won a national championship together.
I cant wait to get to it and work with him again.
And ultimately win again.
Johnson brings a natural intensity on both sides of the floor, while adding size and a presence across the rim.
With the wing position being an older area with an average age of 30 on the team, Johnson, of course, brings youth to the position.
Nonetheless, Draft Analysts expressed his ability to spot up and shoot as an area of growth to start his career.
Schmitz spoke on how Johnson fits into the team and how the experience of playing under Mays could help him succeed early on.
Morez brings the type of toughness and competitiveness that we are looking for.
Hes a high-energy guy, an intense motor and a winner.
He has done it at the highest level of college basketball and did so at 20 years old, too young for his class, said Schmitz.
He brings that type of energy and toughness that we want here in Dallas, and the familiarity piece is going to be huge.
Its obviously a very unique situation to play for your college coach at the NBA level.
So, really excited to have Morez and Dusty around.
Schmitz also went on to elaborate on the rundown Mays gave on Morez during the pre-draft process.
Dusty gave us a great rundown of several prospects in the draft that he was familiar with.
So just to have that insight from his perspective is very unique, and spoke the world of Morez, said Schmitz.
Referenced him as an everyday guy and told stories about pre-game, referencing the fact that we have Morez and they didnt.
Thats the competitive advantage and one of the many reasons why they were able to win at such a high level at Michigan.
To hear his insight on him gave us even more confidence in our evaluation of Morez.
Dallas was not quite done on day one of the draft.
The Mavs selected Arizona forward Koa Peat before trading him in a three-team trade between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks.
In return for the move, the Mavs got New Yorks 25th overall selection of guard Sergio De Larrea of Valencia, Spain, as the organizations second rookie of the night.
De Larrea had been playing in both the Euro League and Liga ACB for Valencia BC in Spain since he was 17 years old.
During his fourth season with Valencia in the clubs ACB title year, the 20-year-old guard averaged a career best 9.7 PPG on nearly 18 minutes a night.
De Larrea averaged nearly 10 PPG in the Euro League, in which Valencia finished second this season, but was one of the best offensive teams in the competition last season.
As of now, the Mavs are still working with De Larrea to decide whether or not he will join the team this season or stay in Spain one more year.
However, Schmitz elaborated on the plethora of attractive traits the Spaniard brings with him to the NBA.
Hes a big guy, 6-7 foot, really high basketball IQ, shoots the ball well, can handle and pass, said Schmitz after the final round of the draft.
He is already playing big minutes at Valencia in the Euro league, ACB Champions, right.
To have that level of productivity at age 20 at one of the best programs in the world is very attractive to us.
The Mavs rounded out the final round of the draft with three players.
With the 48th overall pick, Dallas selected Virginia Tech forward Tobi Lawal toward the midway point of the second round.
Schmitz described Lawal as one of, if not the most explosive, athletes in the draft with 6-foot, 8-inches defensive versatility and high motor as one of the traits Dallas liked in the selection.
The Mavs also traded with the Los Angeles Lakers for Russian guard Vsevolod Ishchenko, who was selected 56th overall by LA, rounding out Dallas 2026 Draft.
Although the draft came and went, the Dallas front office still has free agency coming off to continue to build to the new vision of Mays and around the centerpiece of the 2026 ROTY, Cooper Flagg.