Morez Johnson Jr. explains meeting with Nets before 2026 NBA Draft

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are a little over 24 hours away from deciding what they’re going to do with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft that begins on Tuesday. Brooklyn, like every team throughout the pre-draft process, has been evaluating numerous prospects to see who fits, but they brought it someone at the last minute to see what his fit would look like.

“I think they want me to be myself first. It was a last-minute decision when they had told me back a day or two before that they need me to come in,” Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. said during his interview on Monday prior to the draft. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported over the weekend that the Nets brought in Johnson for a workout, leading many to speculate on what Brooklyn’s intentions are at this point.

“I had a good workout. I believe they said I did good. I guess we’ll see if I actually did good tomorrow,” Johnson continued before explaining what being himself means. “Every workout that I had at the time, and just approaching how I do every day, just being competitive, playing hard, getting my best, showing my versatility, making sure I’m switching one through five when I can on the court.”

Johnson is coming off an impressive sophomore season with the Wolverines as he averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 62.3% from the field and 78.2% from the free-throw line. Johnson seems to be one of the players within the class whose stock has risen significantly and that could put him in the range of being a late Lottery pick if a team is inclined to take him.

As all of this relates to the Nets, Brooklyn has reportedly been one of the teams looking to move up or down and if they move down, Johnson could be one of the targets for a later pick. With that being said, the Nets recently brought in Johnson for a last-minute workout so the draft could show what became of that workout if Brooklyn ends up shaking up the draft in some way.