The Cleveland Cavaliers should copy the New York Knicks and add a champion.
There is something to be said for being a winning player. When you are a core player on a championship team, at any level, you prove something. You have the ability to elevate your game when it matters the most, to overcome adversity, to solve problems.
Morez Johnson Jr. played for the Michigan Wolverines last season, a key two-way weapon for a team that dominated the regular season and won the national championship. He proved himself against the best competition college basketball has to offer.
The Knicks won with champions
Doing so as an NBA prospect puts him into elite company, as many players who won in college went on to win in the NBA. No one knows that better than the New York Knicks, who brought together former champion teammates at Villanova: Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson. That trio just started for the most dominant NBA playoff team in the history of the league, and now they're touring New York institutions celebrating their victory.
The Cavaliers were not good enough to compete with the Knickerbockers, losing in a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals. They are also limited in how they can reshape their team heading into the summer. If they do indeed bring back James Harden, their core is largely set in place.
The NBA Draft would be one way to upgrade their roster, but they are armed with only the No. 29 pick. That won't be good enough to land one of the freshman stars sure to go in the lottery. It also won't be good enough to add key members of that championship Michigan team; center Aday Mara and forward Yaxel Lendeborg will be off the board by the middle of the first round, if not earlier.
Cleveland should draft Morez Johnson Jr.
What the Cavaliers might have a shot to do, however, is to draft championship forward Morez Johnson Jr. Many mock drafts have him falling to the end of the first round, and if he is on the board when Cleveland is on the clock, they should copy the Knicks and invest in championship DNA.
Johnson's resume is impressive on many levels. He stands 6'9" tall with a 7'3.5" wingspan, and he is a stout 250 pounds. That size and strength gives him positional versatility to defend centers, while his mobility on the perimeter was a true weapon for the Wolverines this season.
The offensive side of the court is less refined, but he plays with energy and intelligence and is a strong finisher inside. His shot has improved each of the last few seasons and could reasonably be a weapon down the line.
Johnson could be the answer
That package of skills could make a team fall in love in the middle of the first round, but his lack of elite pop and offensive polish could lead teams elsewhere, especially as Johnson is also 20 years old and doesn't have the same allure of upside that a freshman would.
The Cavaliers could use his size, intensity, strength and rebounding. They need versatile defenders who can still survive on offense. And they need proven winners.
The Knicks won a title by betting on the right internal characteristics and trusting the external ones to click into place. The Cavs should consider doing the same and drafting a champion.
It could make all the difference.
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