Last season, Taurean Prince proved to be a quality trade acquisition from the Brooklyn Nets. Jarrett Allen was the main prize objectively of that for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he could seemingly be locked up long term this offseason.
But Prince was a quality bench contributor when he was healthy, and was more than a “throw-in” piece, too. In primarily a bench role for Cleveland last season post-trade, Prince had 10.1 points in 23.7 minutes per outing, and knocked in 41.5 percent of his 4.1 three-point attempts per contest.
Now unfortunately for Prince, there was ups and downs for him, mostly in relation to the injury front. For context, Prince had a tough left ankle injury on that caused him to miss some games in April and then after he get back more in a March 3 loss against the Indiana Pacers, he suffered a shoulder injury in that one.
He would then go on to miss Cleveland’s first 10 games post-All-Star, and while the condensed didn’t help timing-wise in that way as far as absences, it wasn’t an ideal start to his second half.
On the plus side, although the first two outings back for him were feel-out games it appeared, Prince did find his shooting rhythm soon after that again. Over the next 10 outings, Prince had 13.6 points per outing and knocked in 45.7 percent of his three-point looks; he was giving Cleveland a nice lift off the bench in 24.6 minutes per game.
Now from that point however, Prince would end up having his season cut short because of left ankle surgery. He was reportedly likely to have that following the season anyway, but both sides seemingly decided it was better to just get that done.
It was a bit of a blow at the time, also with Dylan Windler’s left knee surgery shortly prior to that to address “ongoing patella tendinopathy concerns,” and Prince had been in a good groove. Hopefully he’s been progressing along though, and heading into training camp, I’d think he could be mostly healthy and/or into next season.
He still could aid the Wine and Gold’s efforts in a notable way off the bench, too, with his shooting.
Prince’s shooting can still make a difference for the Cavs, clearly.
As we alluded to, Prince was able to knock down his share of looks from deep for the Cavaliers, and leading into his surgery, still seemed more than capable on-ball with shot creation in his minutes.
Next season, though he’s not going to be the scoring presence Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, if he sticks around (even with recent trade rumors, he could very well could for a good chunk) or a potential Jalen Green draft selection, Prince should still help.
When he’s been on the healthier side, the 27-year-old’s shot creation abilities off-the-bounce, to go with his catch-and-shoot acumen, should still make a difference for Cleveland. Prince’s feel for getting to his spots via step backs, pull backs and side steps did give the Cavs a lift off the bench, and I believe that could very well be the case with him hopefully healthy next year.
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We’ll have to see as far as the minutes-share, with, from a bench standpoint, Cedi Osman/Dylan Windler and/or to some extent, a potential Green or in theory, a Jonathan Kuminga draft selection. Albeit Prince could get some burn again with Osman/Windler anyhow, and I’d think could again.
Now at the same time, Prince, similarly to Cedi Osman, was a player previously mentioned in trade rumors near the past deadline, though.
And if Cleveland were to potentially sign a player in free agency such as Doug McDermott or perhaps Josh Hart, both of whom could be rumored targets, perhaps either Prince or Osman could be involved in a trade package elsewhere before next offseason. Or maybe at some point mid-season that could be the case.
But in a general sense, even with Prince set to be expiring, with his catch-and-shoot efficiency and also shot creation abilities, maybe he could stick around through the next deadline, if the Cavaliers are in the thick of things and he’s playing particularly well. From there, perhaps Cleveland could consider re-signing him next offseason as a key bench scoring presence.
Regardless, I still think Prince can be a solid rotational contributor next season, and with his on and off-ball viability, and being fairly competent defensively and with length at 6-foot-7, he still can be an impact player.
We’ll again have to see if he sticks around, though.
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July 03, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Cleveland Cavaliers: Taurean Prince’s shooting can still make a difference - King James Gospel
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