Dusty May didn’t waste much time sending a message in his first preseason game as Mavericks head coach. With Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington out, the opening lineup still had some expected names - Naji Marshall, Max Christie, Zaccharie Risacher and Cooper Flagg - but the real eye-opener came at center, where Morez Johnson Jr. got the nod.
That choice stood out because it came over Daniel Gafford, a player who has started 96 games for Dallas over the last 2.5 seasons. Gafford has been a talking point in camp, too, with May pushing him to start taking threes within the flow of the offense. Still, when it came time for the preseason opener, May went with the rookie.
The rest of the group fit the moment. May has praised Marshall’s playmaking during camp, Christie is the team’s most established shooter, Risacher has been one of the standouts in practice, and Flagg is the star of the group. With Irving and Washington sidelined, that part of the lineup wasn’t especially surprising.
Johnson Jr., though, was the swing. May didn’t ease him in.
He put him right in the fire for his first NBA game, and the 20-year-old big responded with four points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 12 minutes. He also hit a three, showed defensive versatility and stayed active throughout his limited run.
It’s a tiny sample, and preseason lineups can be misleading. Olivier-Maxence Prosper started Dallas’ preseason opener as a rookie in 2023 and then settled into a limited role once the games counted. But this situation carries a different feel.
May already knows Johnson Jr. well from their time together at Michigan, where May coached him before the Wolverines drafted him with the ninth pick earlier this summer. Johnson Jr. was part of Michigan’s National Championship run, and Dallas valued the information May brought with him enough to spend a top-10 pick on him in a loaded draft class.
There’s also a clearer path here because of Dereck Lively II’s injury situation. Lively II remains out while recovering from foot surgery he had in December, which leaves the starting center spot open. That puts Gafford and Johnson Jr. in the mix, but May chose the rookie first.
For now, that’s the loudest clue yet about where this could be headed. May clearly likes what Johnson Jr. brings, and with Lively II sidelined and Gafford’s future still the subject of trade chatter, the rookie big may be in position to start right away.
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Irvings return matters because it gives Mavericks supporters something tangible to hold onto as the new season approaches. Dallas opens on October 21 against the Houston Rockets, and even with plenty still to be sorted out between now and then, the idea of Irving being back in uniform at least restores a sense of possibility around a team that badly needed one. [Read more 🡒]