With the NBA Finals underway, it’s time for all but two franchises to begin looking ahead to the draft and free agency. This year’s selection is critical for the Detroit Pistons, as they look to capitalize on moving up seven spots as part of a deadline deal that brought in Kevin Huerter. Coming off a 60-win season, it’s feasible for the franchise to see itself drafting in the late twenties each summer for the foreseeable future. Getting value this year is paramount. Of course, this pick could very
well end up being made by another team, with the potential for it to be used in a trade to help bolster Cade Cunningham’s supporting cast. Should they keep the pick, Detroit has been linked to a few prospects already, most of whom are guard/wings.
Iowa’s Bennett Stirz, Duke’s Isaiah Evans, or Baylor’s Cameron Carr have shown up in a lot of mocks selected by the Pistons since the combine. All of these players are intriguing prospects, but history suggests that it is unlikely that any of these players will come close to matching their college production in a Pistons uniform. Much of the discourse on Pistons Twitter or in the local media has seemed to frame someone like Stirz as a genuine solution for a second banana to Cunningham. The reality is that caliber of player is rarely found at this point in the draft. Finding a star is difficult in the lottery, and next to impossible outside of it. Rather than try to swing for the fences and find the next Tyrese Maxey, the Pistons would be wise to embrace a more prudent approach and target a player that they believe will have a long pro career. That could mean drafting someone projected as a rotation player or even a specialist.
Frankly, coming away with a solid contributor is the equivalent of striking gold outside of the lottery. The hit rate on players drafted outside of the lottery is abysmal. If the Pistons ascend the way the fanbase hopes, they will be picking in the mid to late 20s as long as Cunningham and the young core continue to progress. At that position, finding even a quality rotation player is a crapshoot at best. In taking advantage of the move up this summer, getting on base and adding a contributor for cheap is far more prudent than swinging for (and potentially whiffing) on a prospect with star potential.
Though he has been rising in mock drafts in recent weeks, Morez Johnson is a prospect I identified early who brings multiple tangible NBA skills, and could be available outside of the lottery. The Michigan product has a high floor and multiple traits that translate to winning basketball. Furthermore, he has a fairly high ceiling that could allow him to outperform his draft spot. If Detroit could get him at 21, it would be a job well done by Trajan Langdon and the front office. Let me explain why.
A Closer Look: Morez Johnson
There is much to like about Johnson for Detroit, or any team for that matter. He comes in as one of the most versatile defensive prospects in this draft class. Throw on tape from just about any Michigan game this season, and you will see a 6-foot-9, 250-pound Johnson picking up the team’s opposing point guard full court. No, that was not a typo.
He frequently was at the top of the team’s full-court press, and it was not uncommon to see him poking the ball away from opposing guards in space. You can’t find centers capable of moving like that, especially with a bigger frame like Johnson. Having a big that can move their feet in space the way that he can is especially valuable as it allows you to switch one through five and have more options and versatility in the team’s defensive scheme.
Additionally, Johnson is a flat-out machine on the glass. In limited minutes as a freshman at Illinois, Johnson’s offensive rebounding rate ranked fourth in the nation. At Michigan, his rebounding rate dipped a bit, but it can reasonably be attributed to the team he was on, starting 3 players who were 6-foot-9 or above. Johnson possesses plus strength for his age, good hands, and a 39-inch vertical to go along with a high motor. Those traits project the Illinois native as an instant impact player on the boards.
Offensively, the sophomore showed flashes of a greater role than he consistently played in college. Johnson is already an elite play finisher, and graded out statistically as one of the better roll men in the country in the pick and roll. Johnson is nimble for his size, and was able to maneuver through an often crowded paint while staying under control. He showed good hands and the ability to catch the ball in traffic and bring the ball down without losing it. He even began to show more flashes as a passer out of the short roll as the season went on, which may benefit further from NBA spacing. What is most intriguing, however, is Johnson’s potential as a shooter. He already has great form, and shoots nearly eighty percent from the free throw line. As the season went on Michigan gave him more leeway to shoot jump shots, and shot a solid thirty four percent from downtown. With proper development, it is not inconceivable to envision Johnson becoming a stretch four or five down the road.
Why This Makes Sense For Detroit
While the Pistons already have a glut of centers on the roster, this could give the team roster flexibility both now and down the road. The team could play Johnson some at the 4 now if he continues to expand his range from three-point land. Due to his defensive versatility, he could likely play alongside Isaiah Stewart or even Jalen Duren in certain lineups. Side note, just imagine Johnson, Ausar Thompson, and Stewart on the floor together defensively.
He could also provide insurance for Beef Stew. While Stewart has arguably been the best non-Wemby paint defender in the league the past couple of seasons, he has not exactly been a model of durability early in his career, and has faced multiple suspensions. In his six-year career, Stewart has played more than sixty-five games only three times. While he has been vital to the team’s culture and defensive identity, there could be a case to be made to sell high on the injury and suspension-prone big man while he is young and still on a team-friendly extension.
Johnson’s presence could make him more expendable, as their skillsets mirror each other in many ways. This could allow Detroit to use Stewart as a sweetener in any trades it might make this summer or next season. Almost all mock trades to this point have had the Pistons sending out either Stewart or Ron Holland as part of a potential return. Wing production is so hard to find, and it is still unclear what Holland’s ceiling will be. If Langdon and company wanted to give the young wing another year to develop and grow on a rookie deal, they could potentially get away with keeping him on the roster while making a splash trade with Stewart as a primary piece of the package. Lastly, if the team decided it did not want to pay Jalen Duren and wanted to use him in a sign and trade, Johnson could help maintain the team’s center depth in the short term.
Johnson likely won’t make many All-Star teams in his career, and may not be the flashiest pick. But he projects as a winning contributor who could help give the Pistons optionality with their roster that they don’t have today.
What do you think of Morez Johnson’s fit in Detroit, and who else would you like to see the team target at twenty one?
