Rodney Terry Previews Potential Fit for Tre Johnson in 2025 NBA Draft

AUSTIN -- Former Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson will hear his name called early in first round of the 2025 NBA Draft in Brooklyn on Wednesday night but it remains unclear where exactly he will end up.

Johnson is seen as a lock to go within the first eight picks and potentially as high as No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. Barring something wildly unforeseen, the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs are expected to select Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper with the first two picks, respectively.

The New Orleans Pelicans have the No. 7 pick and could be a landing spot for Johnson. In a recent interview with Jon Sokoloff of WGNO-TV ABC New Orleans, former Texas head coach Rodney Terry talked about Johnson's potential fit with the Pelicans if he ends up there.

Mar 4, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson (20) reacts after basket during the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

"I think, you know, defensively with the culture that he comes into, I know New Orleans with Coach (Willie) Green there, his philosophy there is defense and playing hard," Terry told Sokoloff. "I think (Johnson) will buy into that with their culture."

Terry added that Johnson's unique scoring ability will have him set up for success regardless of which team he ends up with.

"I think wherever Tre goes, I think he's going to have a chance to have an impact, because his skill set is so high," Terry said. " I had a chance to coach a young Kevin Durant in college at Texas as well. And I'm not saying he's Kevin Durant, but I've never seen or been around a kid that scores the ball as easy as Tre Johnson does, and has a skill set in terms of shooting the basketball for his size. So I think wherever he goes, he's gonna have a chance from an offensive standpoint to really make an impact."

ESPN mocked #Texas guard Tre Johnson to the Pelicans (7).

His coach Rodney Terry weighed in on why he'd be great in NOLA.

"I'm not saying he's Kevin Durant, but I've never seen or been around a kid that scores the ball as easy as Tre Johnson does"

Full: https://t.co/LoiG1WIem3 pic.twitter.com/VXAyN5buVS
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) June 24, 2025

The Washington Wizards made a trade with New Orleans on Tuesday that sent guard Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the No. 40 pick to the Pelicans in exchange for guard CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick.

It's unclear if the addition of Poole will motivate New Orleans to skip out on Johnson and look elsewhere. Still, the Pelicans could find themselves in a best-available approach once the seventh pick rolls around and would be forced to select whoever remains at the top of their draft board.

Wherever Johnson lands, it's clear he will bring elite scoring skills and fiery competitiveness to the NBA.

Johnson finished the regular season as the SEC's leading scorer before being named the SEC Freshman of the Year and earning nods to the All-SEC Second Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team. He ended the 2024-25 season averaging 19.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 34.7 minutes while starting 33 games and missing two contests due to injury. He shot 42.7 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from 3-point range and 87.1 percent at the foul line.

Johnson scored a career-high 39 points on 7 of 11 from deep in an 86-81 overtime loss to Arkansas on Feb. 26. He reached double figures in scoring in all but two games this year while topping the 20-point mark 15 times and the 30-point mark three times.

The 2025 NBA Draft begins at 7 p.m. CT at the Barclays Center.