Morez Johnson Jr. is already a fan favorite for the Dallas Mavericks, and it's easy to see why. The Michigan big man is already making comparisons to Bam Adebayo and Al Horford, but one TV personality is already labeling him as "the glue guy."
Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd has become a meme with sports fans, but Dallas fans need to take notes here. Johnson Jr. is not going to be the flashy shooter like Stephen Curry, but he already has an identity in the NBA that isn't changing. He's a hard-nosed, rugged guy who is as unselfish as it gets. Here's Cowherd when comparing the Michigan big to some recent NBA champions.
"He's a 15-plus year NBA guy...If you look at the last three champions, the Knicks had guys like this that didn't get a lot of love, like a Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson, glue guys. The Celtics three years ago had Derrick White, Oklahoma City -- Lu Dort. You need guys who can score without setting plays up for them."
Colin Cowherd says Johnson Jr. is a glue guy who will have a long career
Hopefully one day, this take will end up on the "Where Colin was right" segment.
The Mavericks had picked one of the best glue guys in the entire class, and if he sticks to his identity of basketball, he will have no problem fitting in with Cooper Flagg. Johnson Jr. isn't going to change who he is because his physicality will always be there.
Johnson Jr. has the same body type as Draymond Green, but hopefully, he can be an offensive player like Lu Dort or Josh Hart. Both Dort and Hart are shorter, but they are the glue guys of their respective teams. Every team needs that, and Dallas clearly has that now.
Best of all, Johnson Jr. plays like an enforcer. He doesn't allow anybody to mess with him, and he won't let anybody mess with Flagg. Naji Marshall already plays that role, so it'd be nice to add another player in that role.
All he needs to do is work on his jump shot, and according to workouts, he's already been working on his 3-point shot (h/t Locked On Mavericks). This is exactly what we need to see to show that he's already improving any concerns. Johnson Jr. will mostly live inside and grab rebounds during his rookie year, but over time, he's going to need to find his shot.
The Mavericks' most glaring flaw is deep-range shooting. Hopefully, that will end when they get reps out of Sergio De Larrea, who has a great outside shot and can make plays on offense.
People make fun of Cowherd sometimes, but here, he's 100 percent right.
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