Armed with only the bare minimum of veterans as a second-line team, it was unclear how the Milwaukee Bucks would fare in free agency this offseason. In the 2024 NBA Draft, Bucks general manager Jon Horst selected two 19-year-olds who don’t seem destined to see much playing time in their rookie seasons, meaning the three open roster spots were closer to the middle of the roster than the end and Horst would need to find veteran players ready to contribute next season.
On Monday, the Bucks appeared to find one of those players when they agreed to terms with 32-year-old guard Delon Wright. On Wednesday, Horst appears to have found another of those players when he agreed to a one-year, veteran-minimum contract with free-agent forward Taurean Prince.
Prince, 30, appeared in 78 games for the Los Angeles Lakers and started 49 times last season under then-Lakers head coach (and current Bucks head assistant coach) Darvin Ham. The eight-year NBA veteran averaged 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 27 minutes per game and shot 39.6 percent from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts from deep per game.
While fans probably want to immediately label Prince as a 3-and-D wing, his usage over the years makes labeling him as such a bit trickier. Last season in Los Angeles, Prince played small forward roughly 70 percent of the time, according to Cleaning the Glass’ positional estimates. But those same estimates indicate that he spent the majority of his time at power forward in his previous four seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets, so Prince does have some potential positional versatility.
Since the championship run in 2021, when P.J. Tucker and Pat Connaughton helped the Bucks embrace small-ball lineups throughout the postseason, Horst has been on the hunt for the player who can defend big forwards across the league and play a position that helps unlock lineups that allow Giannis Antetokounmpo to play center for short stretches during the regular season. Prince might not be that exact player, but he’s at least a possibility with his skillset.
Watch this possession by Prince against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant in the 2023-24 season tournament. (Note that current Bucks head coach Doc Rivers will provide color commentary during the game and shield your eyes from the purple court.)
Prince wasn’t as physical as Tucker during his infamous battle against Durant in the Bucks’ 2021 second-round game against the Brooklyn Nets, but he was effective. With a 7-foot-11 wingspan, Prince not only managed to make it difficult for Durant, but he also got his hand on the ball during Durant’s jump shot and forced him to hit the side of the backboard. That length pairs well with Prince’s strength to help him stay ahead of players like Durant.
While Prince can hold his own against players who prefer to go for their jump shot and then bother them with his length, it’s a little more difficult for him to stay against quicker players like Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George.
His wingspan can help him get back into the game and bother players, as he did by robbing George of that shot attempt, but it’s not wise to think Prince will be a shutdown defender against the league’s best guards, even if Prince is surprisingly agile for someone his size and is willing to take a shot against the likes of Denver Nuggets All-Star Jamal Murray.
Prince did an admirable job of fighting over the two screens set by Nikola Jokić and managed to get some real competition on that Murray jumper, but he shouldn’t be viewed as some sort of blocker. He’s an undeniably solid defender, but because the Lakers didn’t have many great defensive options on the perimeter, Ham was forced to put him in precarious positions far too often. In fact, according to Synergy stats, Prince spent nearly 46 percent of his time on the court last season guarding one of the other team’s best scorers.
These defenders spent the most time facing the scoring ball handlers this year. image.twitter.com/di6VNKIBEg
— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) June 23, 2024
He may have to do some of that in Milwaukee next season, but in an ideal world, Prince will be used in that role much less frequently next season with the Bucks.
On the other end of the floor, Prince will largely be what fans might expect. Because he started in Atlanta under former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, Prince got used to knocking down a lot of 3-pointers early in his career. Over the past eight seasons, Prince has attempted 2,239 3-pointers and shot 37.6 percent from the three-point line, but that career percentage is slightly misleading due to his poor shooting (33.9 percent) in his only full season in Brooklyn (2019-20).
In six of his past seven seasons, Prince has shot at least 37.6 percent from the field. He made 40 percent of his 3-pointers once (2020-21) and 39.6 percent of his 3-pointers last season with the Lakers, including a career-high 43 percent on above-the-break attempts.
While hitting 3s will be a big part of his job playing off the ball alongside Damian Lillard and Antetokounmpo, Prince has shown some ability to attack closeouts when teams push him off the 3-point line.
There are times, however, when he’s shown to be overly ambitious around the rim, and that has limited his ability to finish at a rate befitting a 6-foot-4, long-armed, athletic forward (64.4 percent over the past three seasons). While attacking closeouts hasn’t brought Prince much success at the rim, he has become a strong midrange shooter, hitting 45.4 percent of those shots over the past three years. (Shooting stats from Cleaning the Glass.)
While Prince doesn’t necessarily answer the question of who will be the Bucks’ starting shooting guard, the Bucks opened free agency looking for players who could contribute alongside Rivers and play real minutes next season. Considering he appeared in 78 games and played 2,108 minutes for a team that made the playoffs last season, Prince is one of those players.
The Bucks still have one roster spot open, but Horst’s first two free agent signings of the summer fit the team’s needs well for next season. Wright and Prince might not end up putting up the same offensive numbers that starting guard Malik Beasley put up last season, but that’s OK. Offense isn’t what the Bucks needed from their open roster spots.
Last summer, Beasley was brought to Milwaukee to add some scoring power alongside defenseman Jrue Holiday in the backcourt. When the Bucks signed Lillard just three days before training camp, that completely changed the environment for role players. And while Beasley had one of the best seasons of his career, it wasn’t really what the Bucks needed. With Lillard on the roster, the Bucks needed less help from role players on offense and greater contributions on defense.
And the Bucks appear to have figured that out in the first three days of free agency.
Wright can put more pressure on point guards and chase shooting guards all over the court with his length and quickness, and Prince can offer added resistance against small forwards and small forwards with his strength and length. You can’t expect much from players who sign minimum contracts, but the Bucks did come to terms with two players who were a much better fit with the players at the top of the roster and served as rotation players for playoff teams late last season.
The Bucks may not end up being a better team next season. It’s impossible to predict the injuries, obstacles and adversities any team will face in any given season, but on paper, their roster makes a lot more sense after the deals reached with these first two players.
(Photo of Prince Taurus driving against Peyton Watson: Jason Parkhurst/USA Today)
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