Have Charlotte Hornets Fans Fallen in Love With the Wrong Michigan Prospect?

It's been assumed by many that Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara will be off the board before the Charlotte Hornets get a chance to make their first selection in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Because of that, Hornets fans have become smitten with the idea of landing another Michigan man in this month's draft: Morez Johnson Jr.

Morez was clearly the third banana on Dusty May's championship-winning team, but the bruising 6'9" forward's ability to impact games on the margins could be attractive to Charles Lee and Jeff Peterson.

Johnson is an elite offensive rebounder, switchable defender, and projects to stretch the floor on some level at the NBA. Sure, he was far from a featured player at Michigan, but his willingness to assimilate into a role on a historically great team will be a feature to potential employers in the league, not a bug, not too dissimilar to Sion James committing to be the fifth man at Duke two years ago.

Morez won't stuff the stat sheet, but he will be one of those players that calculators love because he just plays winning basketball...

...which is why Johnson Jr. may not be the former Wolverine that is on the board when Charlotte picks at #14 overall.

Could Yaxel Lendeborg fall into the Hornets' lap?

In his most recent mock draft, NBA Draft insider Kevin O'Connor sent Lendeborg to Miami with the 13th pick and Johnson Jr. to Charlotte with the 14th pick.

However, he did caveat the selections with this nugget: "There is a belief in league circles that Lendeborg could end up being the third Michigan prospect selected on draft night – behind Aday Mara and Morez Johnson, who is rising on draft boards – but for now he holds his slot in the lottery for this mock."

Everything is subject to change at this point as prospect workouts continue, trades are swung, and draft boards are finalized, but it wouldn't be surprising for O'Connor's scenario to play out on draft night. Let's game it out:

1. AJ Dybantsa
2. Darryn Peterson
3. Cam Boozer
4. Caleb Wilson
5. Mikel Brown Jr.
6. Nate Ament
7. Darius Acuff
8. Kingston Flemings
9. Brayden Burries
10. Keaton Wagler

This is where Lendeborg's range starts in my opinion. If the Warriors (who own the 11th overall pick) are looking to maximze their contention window with Steph Curry, Yaxel makes a ton of sense for Golden State. But so does Aday Mara, and I could see GSW making him the first Michigan man off the board.

Oklahoma City is up next at #12. Yaxel Lendeborg checks all of the Thunder's boxes, and I think this is his most likely landing spot if the top eleven plays out like I project it to. Lendeborg's combination of size, skill, and role versatility is exactly what Oklahoma City needs alongside their current core to unseat Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs of their throne in the Western Conference.

However, Morez Johnson Jr. ticks many of the same boxes here. According to HoopsHype's draft workout tracker, both Morez and Yaxel have worked out for Oklahoma City. Let's assume Sam Presti covets Johnson's youth and send him to the Thunder.

At this point, both Mara and Johnson are off the board with Miami on the clock at #13.

The Heat are considered front-runners in the Giannis Antetekounmpo sweepstakes, and there is a world in which they don't make this pick and Milwaukee does. Either way, there are a number of prospects that could fit either Miami or Milwaukee that aren't Yaxel: Dailyn Swain, Karim Lopez, Ebuka Okorie, Hannes Steinbach, and Cameron Carr, are all younger players with higher perceived upside than Lendeborg that the franchise who makes this pick could covet.

For this exercise, Swain will go to Miami because they value his ability to pressure the rim and his defensive upside, which leaves Lendeborg on the board for Charlotte.

There are far too many potential machinations of the draft to lay out, but this is a realistic one in which Charlotte lands their assumed top target without needing to trade up like many have suggested. I have questions about Lendeborg's age and the perceived floor he'll bring to an NBA squad, but there's no denying he is a lottery-level talent that could produce a positive NBA impact on day one.

If nothing else, I'm mostly writing this for myself, because I have just assumed since the college season ended and Lendeborg gutted his way through the national championship game that he would be selected with a top-ten pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. That is far from a given, and I'm willing to predict that Morez Johnson Jr. being mocked ahead of Yaxel Lendeborg will become the consensus before draft night, as will Yaxel being picked by Charlotte, which very well may be the catalyst this group of Hornets needs to get over the top.

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