Mavericks' biggest Morez Johnson Jr. question comes before he even plays a game

Dallas Mavericks rookie Morez Johnson Jr. makes his NBA Summer League debut today against the Golden State Warriors, and there’s already one pressing question that fans want answered.

Can Morez Johnson Jr. space the floor? Or will his offensive game be extremely limited in his first season?

His time in Summer League will give fans a glimpse of how his offensive skills compare to his young NBA peers, and all eyes will be on him later tonight. Dallas takes on the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in Las Vegas, with Johnson Jr.'s matchup against his former Michigan teammate, Yaxel Lendeborg, being the main story.

Johnson Jr.'s jump shot remains his biggest question

Lendeborg already tore it up in the California Classic Summer League, and Johnson Jr. will be looking to do the same thing in Vegas. Mavericks fans already know he's going to be an incredible defender and strong rebounder while doing all the dirty work, but his jumper is a bit of a wild card.

Shooting it well in college doesn't guarantee that the same thing will happen in the NBA, but Mavericks fans are crossing their fingers that he has floor-spacing ability right away. Johnson Jr. has the chance to be a long-term piece next to Cooper Flagg, especially after they drafted him with the No. 9 overall pick, and his jump shot could determine his offensive ceiling.

Dallas desperately needs more shooting around Cooper Flagg if they want to be successful next season after losing 56 games last season, and Johnson Jr. could play a major role in this. He shot 34.3 percent from three last season at Michigan on 0.9 attempts per game, and there's a reason to believe that he can continue to improve in this area as a rookie.

Johnson Jr. has shown flashes of growth as a shooter

His development as a shooter was evident over his two years in college, as he went from not shooting a single three at Illinois as a freshman to making 12 threes in 40 games as a sophomore at Michigan under Dusty May. This is a limited sample size, as Johnson Jr. didn't shoot many threes and mostly played inside at Michigan, but the upside is there.

He shot 78.2 percent from the free-throw line after shooting 61.8 percent as a freshman, and this is usually a good indicator of whether a player has room to grow as a shooter. Johnson Jr. certainly does, and hours before tonight's game, his shooting has already been a major talking point among fans.

Fans are already questioning his shooting

Multiple clips of the 6-foot-9 forward working on his 3-point shooting during shootaround were posted to social media on Thursday morning, with one video in particular concerning fans.

Fans were quick to overanalyze the young rookie's jumper, picking apart his shot, but one practice clip doesn't mean much. It's about how he plays in games that will help reveal his offensive upside as a rookie, and that journey starts tonight.

His defense, motor, rebounding, and athleticism seem like locks, but his 3-point shooting panning out could be what makes him a star one day.

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