With the 2026 NBA Draft officially in the books, it’s time to round up the grades and see how the collective media thinks your Dallas Mavericks did. The Mavericks draft can best be described as perhaps, polarizing? Morez Johnson Jr., for how good he is, was not ninth on most boards (13th on the consensus board), leading to the fair assumption that Dallas reached on the pick. But, grabbing Sergio de Larrea where they did was a very shrewd move.
All in all, on our live show Tuesday night, I gave the
Mavericks a C+ for the work they did. I almost feel as if an incomplete grade is more suitable for the work they did, however. The rest of the roster is awfully redundant with Johnson Jr., and to a degree, Cooper Flagg. There are still transactions that need to be done over the coming days and weeks, and until that’s done, it is a bit unfair to judge the front office. However, if the roster looks and is balanced this way in October, it’ll be a different conversation.
Now that my amateur grading is out of the way, let’s see how the assembled media graded the Mavs.
SB Nation
Morez Johnson Jr.: B+
Our first shocker of the draft! The Mavericks just stole Dusty May away from Michigan, and now he’s bringing one of the top players from his national championship team to his new pro home. Johnson is super long and super strong, he’s an awesome play finisher, a good rebounder, and I believe he might be the best defender in the class. You can make the argument that his upside is capped because he’s a little short for a center, and he doesn’t yet shoot threes, but I think he’s a dog who is additive at either the four or the five. The Mavs just got a lot tougher around Cooper Flagg.
Sergio de Larrea: B
Tall pick-and-roll ball handler who can throw some really nice passes when he’s not sloppy with his turnovers. He shot it well this year, and gives the Knicks another guy who can run offense to take some pressure off Jalen Brunson. Update: De Larrea is going to Dallas.
Odds to win Rookie of the Year
The Fanduel Sportsbook currently has Morez Johnson at +10000 to win Rookie of the Year. Your favorites are Cam Boozer (+240), AJ Dybantsa (+400) and Darryn Peterson (+400). Are these odds telling you how good each of these guys will be as a pro? Perhaps not. But it is a good representation of what oddsmakers feel like they will produce in year one. If you had to pick someone to win, who would it be? And of Morez in particular, do you feel these odds are fair?
The Athletic
Morez Johnson Jr.: C+
Hollinger’s analysis: Surprise! I’m a fan of Johnson but not quite at this level. I think his offensive limitations are a bit much to select him in the top 10 in such a strong draft. He also has some positional questions on this roster since the frontcourt is so loaded already. Shockingly, he goes ahead of his two Michigan teammates (Aday Mara and Lendeborg), both of whom most had rated higher throughout the draft cycle. Obviously, you wonder how much influence newly hired coach (and former Michigan head coach) Dusty May had on all this.
Sergio de Larrea: A
Hollinger’s analysis: I love this pick for Dallas. I had De Larrea in my top 15 and think teams slept on him while he was hugely productive in Spain the past two years. The Mavs gave up two seconds to move up from No. 30 and make sure they got him, which I see as a justifiable investment given the talent cliff that hit basically right after this pick. He’s a Bogdan Bogdanović-type guard with good size who can shoot and pass and should help Cooper Flagg whether he’s on or off the ball.
CBS Sports
Morez Johnson Jr.: C+
New Mavs coach Dusty May brings in a Michigan player to Dallas. Morez Johnson was one of the biggest winners of the combine, measuring bigger than expected with massive length, well-rounded athleticism, and simultaneously reaffirming the shooting gains we saw this year. Johnson is long and powerful with an NBA-ready body and rugged physicality to match. He is a two-way rebounder and a versatile defender who can not only guard ball-screens in multiple ways but also be switchable inside-and-out.
Johnson is not a creator and doesn’t project as being more than a complementary piece offensively. Shooting is also still largely unproven with a total of 12 3-pointers in two college basketball seasons. He can provide some secondary rim protection, but doesn’t project as a primary shot-blocker at the NBA level.
Sergio de Larrea: B
A big guard and advanced passer with excellent perimeter size, de Larrea has the potential to play multiple positions. He has a good feel for the game and ability to navigate and make reads off ball-screens. Dictates his own pace and rarely gets sped up. Made notable strides as a shooter and became a reliable floor-spacer, albeit with a fairly elongated release that is powered primarily through his upper body.
De Larrea has some athletic limitations that are exacerbated by playing upright with limited bend or flexibility in his body mechanics. He struggles to get all the way to the rim, especially in the half-court. Also a limited finisher in traffic. Relies on his size and IQ defensively, but has had similar struggles to hold his own on that end of the floor in EuroLeague play.
Team report card: C+
The single most important goal for Dallas this offseason was to give Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg a long-term running mate. By selecting Johnson, the Mavs added toughness, familiarity and size in a forward who played for new Mavs coach Dusty May last season at Michigan. There was debate about who would be the first Michigan player off the board, and it ended up being Johnson — who was one of the biggest risers of the draft cycle. But does he have the upside to justify the No. 9 pick? De Larrea, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Spain who played important minutes for a Valencia team that was one of the EuroLeague’s best, should fit well as a complementary piece around Flagg and Kyrie Irving. Lawal is a freakish athlete who can run the floor and finish at the rim. He will have to embrace a defensive identity to stick in the NBA.
ESPN
Team report card: B+
The “Michigan Mavericks” added Johnson one day after hiring former Wolverines coach Dusty May.
Johnson’s relentless energy as a defender and rebounder was crucial to Michigan’s NCAA championship run, and he has tried to expand his scoring profile by experimenting with a 3-point shot.
If that progress sticks, this pick could look amazing in hindsight. Dallas desperately needed more young talent to reorient its roster around last year’s No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg, and Johnson fits the bill as a player who can capitalize when defenses load up on Flagg.
De Larrea, a big guard who played professionally in Spain last season, and Lawal, a forward from Virginia Tech, fall into the flier category. May will have multiple years to turn around the Mavericks, but Tuesday was a good start.
Bleacher Report
Team report card: D
Despite this likely being the Dallas Mavericks’ best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with a star given the ownership and swaps of their future first-round picks, the Mavs ignored their biggest need.
Flagg and Dereck Lively II should be viewed as the franchise’s frontcourt moving forward, especially if the latter can stay healthy. Dallas suffered from horrible guard play all year and needed a playmaker to help set the table for Flagg, not force him out of position.
Johnson, although a good defender, is limited offensively and is going to need to take a frontcourt spot. With Brayden Burries going one spot later and a run of four potential All-Star guards in front of them, the Mavs should have done all they could to move up a spot or taken the Arizona product instead.
De Larrea potentially fills this need, although he was talked about as a draft and stash option when the New York Knicks originally made the selection at No. 25. This was the Mavericks best chance to add a high-upside guard to grow alongside Flagg and they messed it up so new head coach Dusty May could take one of his Michigan players, a move that’s not going to age well.
