While the NBA Playoffs remain the most pressing concern on the minds of the Cleveland Cavaliers' community, no matter what happens this spring, life will go on, and once again, the team will have to prepare for next season.
Coming with that is the 2026 NBA Draft this June and while the Cavaliers are built to win now, that shouldn't minimize the fact that this team is far from perfect and a good draft would make major strides in a number of regards.
Firstly, it would be in Cleveland's best interest to get cheaper. The best way to do that is, as we can guess, to get good, rotational players on rookie contracts. Additionally, building through the draft will provide Cleveland some much needed answers on which guys they should keep via both free agency and the trade market, and which guys they should let go.
Given their current construction and placement in this draft, there is perhaps no better target for the Cavaliers than Michigan big Morez Johnson Jr.
As of now, Cleveland is slated to own the 29th pick in the 2026 draft (the San Antonio Spurs' selection), and while recent boards have seen Johnson Jr. rising, this appears to be an appropriate range for him. Although, if they'd have to, the Cavaliers should be willing to trade up.
Johnson Jr. has built himself into a real prospect
Johnson Jr.'s path to becoming a legitimate NBA prospect has been a relatively unorthodox one. In 2024-25, he went to Illinois for his freshman season and played a role in the rotation but was nothing truly special.
He averaged 17.6 minutes per game largely in a bench role playing backup center behind Tomislav Ivisic, while putting up 7.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest. Again, nothing crazy, but certainly respectable for a freshman in an elite league.
However, he surprised many when he transferred in-conference to Michigan for the 2025-26 season and exploded from there. Before the season began, there were a number of questions about the role that Johnson Jr. would play on the team, as the Wolverines had also acquired center Aday Mara and power forward Yaxel Lendeborg in the portal, seemingly settling the frontcourt starters.
Head Coach Dusty May surprised some, though, when he started Lendeborg on the wing, Johnson Jr. at the four and Mara at center. May did what Illinois Head Coach Brad Underwood could not: he found the perfect role for Johnson Jr. to thrive on both ends.
Statistically, Johnson Jr. took a leap, averaging 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game this year, but the stats do not tell the full story. With Mara behind him as the defensive anchor and rim protector, Johnson Jr. was given the liberty to leave the paint and guard out in the space. He exceeded all expectations about his foot speed and quickness and made life hell for almost anyone he guarded. His play also led him to both All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defense honors.
Johnson is a defensive star
As an NBA prospect, that defense is the first thing to look at regarding his biggest strengths. He's about 6'9'' and 250 pounds, probably too small to play the five full time, but definitely in shorter stints. He has elite strength to contest opposing bigs down low and posted a 4.8 block percentage this year. He isn't a wild vertical athlete, but has the intelligence to more than hold his own down low.
The versatility on the perimeter, though, is where he'll make his money. Imagine a slightly bigger version of Draymond Green. Obviously, Green is more wing-y and more importantly, became one of the best defenders in NBA history so it'll be tough to fulfill that, but that might be the type of defender on the perimeter that Johnson Jr. is. He is truly, truly special on that end.
The offense isn't quite as perfect, but there's a lot to work with. To start with the positives, Johnson Jr. shot 72.9 percent at the rim this past season, a very impressive number that shows real touch. While he doesn't post a ton of assists, he doesn't turn the ball over either (14.0 turnover percentage).
He's a relatively low usage player, which may frighten some, but actually shows that he doesn't need the ball in his hands often. Johnson Jr. is more than capable of finding his niche as a rebounder, finisher and post player.
Shooting is the big question mark
The shooting is where the conversation gets a big difficult. To put it simply, he really doesn't attempt many threes and when he does, they don't go in at an impressive clip. He's a career 34.3 percent shooter on 35 attempts, all coming this year.
However, there is a road for positivity. First, every single one of those attempts came this year, meaning that he is just now learning to shoot. The reason why that is positive is that he showed real growth and willingness to make that growth and if he continues to develop his jumper then perhaps it has a chance of being passable. Some prospects jack up threes for multiple years with the same percentages and expect to all of a sudden become real shooters when they make it to the highest level of league with the furthest 3-point line. Johnson Jr. is not of that profile.
Secondly, he took a massive leap with his free throw percentage. At Illinois, Johnson Jr. shot 61.8 percent from the stripe while at Michigan, that number jumped all the way to 78.2 percent. That is highly, highly impressive and it would be ignorant to ignore that level of leap.
While the shot is no where near ready to be even average at this point, the touch, free throw numbers and growth taking shots is a reason to be optimistic for it to go in at some point, Johnson Jr. could become a passable shooter and if he does, he may become invaluable.
Johnson Jr.'s fit with Cleveland would be excellent
From simply a team fit perspective, Johnson Jr. would fit like a glove. It has become a theme at this point that Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley don't have much frontcourt depth behind them and Johnson Jr. would provide just that.
It's a bit hard to believe that Thomas Bryant will be on the roster next season, so Johnson Jr. would have a direct path to the rotation as the third big. The versatility he showed in Michigan's scheme as the primary four but also backup five would be perfect for what Cleveland is trying to do.
He could play with both Mobley and Allen, and if he had to, perhaps without either of them at times. Also, it would also do wonders for his growth to be able to have his warts covered up by the presence of both of the other bigs, but especially Mobley.
The contractual aspect is, once again, vital to this equation. In 2025-26, the 29th pick made just over $2.7 million in his rookie year and while that number will slightly go up in 2026-27, it's still a bargain to have someone that cheap occupying a rotation spot.
If that happens, both Bryant and Nance Jr. will likely leave and the Cavaliers will have a major decision to make with Dean Wade. Wade has been highly important this season and still will be in the playoffs as the team's best jumbo wing defender.
However, he's an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and if he has a strong postseason, the Cavaliers probably won't be able to afford him. That's where Johnson Jr. comes in. While he's more of a big than Wade, he can fill the shoes of Wade decently well (and become much better in other aspects) at a fraction of the price.
If Wade becomes less effective in the playoffs than Cleveland could and should explore keeping Wade and drafting Johnson Jr., but as it stands, Koby Altman should actively be looking for a replacement.
Another angle is that if Johnson Jr. develops towards his ceiling, the Cavaliers could segway that into trading Allen and giving Mobley the keys at full time center. This is something that has been discussed for a while now, and Johnson Jr. could be the vehicle to make that happen.
Either way, with Johnson Jr. filling out the big depth for the next season, the Cavaliers will have all of a sudden addressed perhaps their biggest need and set themselves up to contend for years to come.
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