Just like Brook Lopez, it felt like Taurean Prince was as good as gone after his role shrank for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Playoffs. However, ESPN insider Shams Charania reports that Prince won't be on the move, instead re-signing with the Bucks, who must utilize Prince at his natural spot next season if they want to get the best out of him.
Bucks must use Prince as a small forward
Last season, Taurean Prince played 19 percent of his minutes as a shooting guard, trailing his career high of 20, which came the year before with the Los Angeles Lakers. A large part of that came after a mid-season deal brought Kyle Kuzma aboard. Not only was Prince out of position, but so was Kuzma, who was cosplaying as a small forward when he's really a power forward.
With both players currently on the roster for next season, the Milwaukee Bucks must find a way to put their best lineups out there. That means no lineup with Prince and Kuzma starting together. Let Prince play the three and Kuzma at the four. Anything else causes clunky lineups and bad matchups on the defensive end, where Prince can struggle against quicker guards.
Prince re-signing certainly comes as a surprise. It felt like the Milwaukee Bucks were trending toward a youth makeover this summer, evidenced by letting Brook Lopez walk. While they still can, they have a 31-year-old Prince back in town to serve as a veteran. It does make some sense, as he's now the lone legitimate small forward on Milwaukee's roster.
The veteran actually had a solid season with Milwaukee last year, averaging 8.2 points while shooting a career-best 43.9 percent from deep. However, he really faltered in the postseason, where he fell out of the rotation and averaged just 1.2 points on 22.2 percent 3-point shooting. That alone would have been a justifiable reason to let him walk out the door.
On a minimum deal, this is fairly low-risk for the Milwaukee Bucks, even if the focus on the rest of the roster should be on youth. If Milwaukee wants Prince to have a better second season than his first, a big part of the game plan should revolve around utilizing him at the proper position. The Bucks now have re-signed both Kevin Porter Jr. and Taurean Prince, both on two year deals with player options for the second year.
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