Grading Taurean Prince's compelling deal with the Milwaukee Bucks

Looking at Taurean Prince’s fit and role with the Milwaukee Bucks

Across the 2023-24 season, the Milwaukee Bucks tried multiple players at the wing positions.

Beasley spent most of the season at the shooting guard position, and Khris Middleton held down the three as expected. Outside of that, there was a real struggle to find consistency from the likes of Andre Jackson Jr., A.J. Green, Pat Connaughton, MarJon Beauchamp and Crowder. Danilo Gallinari was a late addition to the roster and struggled to have any impact on the team as well.

Prince will give the Bucks a dependable player at the wing; they know he can defend and shoot. The Lakers last season were very up and down under new Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, but Prince played 78 games (starting in 49), averaging 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game. He did this on very good shooting splits of .442/.396/.735. As a 37.6 percent 3-point shooter over his career, Prince can have a huge impact for the Milwaukee Bucks off the bench.

There is the possibility of him starting and Middleton possibly moving back to the shooting guard position, but it feels highly unlikely. Yet, his flexibility is ideal. At 6-foot-6, he can play the two, three or four positions depending on what lineup the Bucks run.

If Giannis Antetokounmpo plays minutes at center, Prince playing power forward can create good spacing for the Bucks but still be that wing defender they can throw at multiple opposing players.

Reports from The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor suggest that the Bucks are looking to be more versatile on defense moving forward, and adding Prince will help them do that.

With the Lakers, he had a defensive rating of 117.5 and a career rating of 112.6, per StatMuse. That defensive rating was the exact same as Crowder, who played 28 fewer games. Only six Bucks had a better rating than Prince this season. The last two seasons of Prince's career have been the worst in terms of defensive rating, but he has been very consistent throughout, and with a new scheme in place, the Milwaukee Bucks may get the best out of him.

Tyler Smith was the Bucks' second-round draft pick and is likely to learn a thing or two from Prince. His signing, however, does raise questions about Beauchamp and Chris Livingston's roles on the team moving forward. Green and Jackson Jr. were fairly prominent pieces and are expected to be again, but the signings of Wright and Prince, who are still very solid role players in their primes, will open up speculation around the future of some of the Milwaukee Bucks' younger pieces.

If Crowder, Gallinari and Thanasis Antetokounmpo all have moved on, Prince is a very good fit for the Bucks. He is a complementary wing who can work on the roster and has everything the Bucks have been looking to add. His experience and versatility off the bench could be huge in Milwaukee.