Mavs Still Waiting On Rookie Morez Johnson Jr. To Cut It Loose In Training Camp

Dallas Mavericks rookie Morez Johnson Jr. has had limited time in practice through the first three days of training camp, Mavericks coach Dusty May said Monday.

May did not say what has limited the ninth overall pick.

So when will the rookie cut it loose?

"He's had a little limited time in practice, but he's working his way back," May said. "He's close."

Johnson is one of three Dallas big men who have been limited since camp opened Saturday. Santi Aldama is returning from an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee in March. Dereck Lively II is recovering from December surgery on his right foot.

During the open portion of Saturday's first practice, Johnson worked on his shooting with assistant coach Rob Fodor. Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin were in the same group. May said that day that some players were limited in certain drills.

Marshall said Sunday that Johnson has not played much in camp.

"He can really affect both ends of the floor, whether it's defense, offense," Marshall said. "So like I said, I'm excited to play with him too. And I love the pass, so him being a [lob] threat, something else that intrigues me, and I just can't wait till he get out there."

Johnson last played in a game in July. He opened the Las Vegas Summer League with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks in a 101-90 loss to Golden State.

Two days later, he had 10 points, five rebounds, four blocks, and two steals in a 91-70 loss to the Lakers.

An illness kept him out of the final three Summer League games.

Dallas finished 26-56 last season and used the ninth pick in June on Johnson. He averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 40 games for Michigan's national championship team after transferring from Illinois.

His coach in Ann Arbor was May, who is in his first season in Dallas under president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz.

May already trusts Johnson from their season together. Dallas has changed some of the terminology, though.

"There's a couple times [in] practice when he'll walk up and say, hey, is this term now what we call that?" May explained. "So it's a slight advantage, but not much."

The Mavericks opened camp with 19 players. Fifteen are on standard contracts and three are on two-way deals. The other is Dwight Powell, who re-signed Sept. 25 on a training camp contract.

Powell, Moussa Cissé, Daniel Gafford, and Lively are listed at center on the camp roster. Cissé holds the only 2026-27 salary among the 15 standard deals that is not fully guaranteed, and it becomes fully guaranteed if he is still on the roster Oct. 1.

Powell, 35, is the longest-tenured player on the roster. Across 12 seasons with Boston and Dallas, he has averaged 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 768 games.

His 763 games with the Mavericks rank fifth in franchise history. He is fourth on the franchise's all-time list in field-goal percentage at .606.

Dallas is scheduled to practice again Wednesday. The Mavericks open the preseason against the Houston Rockets at 7 a.m. CT on Oct. 9 at The Venetian Arena in Macao, and the two teams meet there again Oct. 11.