Taurean Prince has always been a solid regular season player. However, just like every other year of his career, his playoff stats dropped off a cliff with the Milwaukee Bucks last season despite having one of his better regular season outings. Until he proves otherwise, Prince's inability to perform on the big stage will hang over this franchise like a black cloud. It's so bad that they should be scouring the market for more help at small forward.
Bucks need another small forward, and they need it badly
For his regular season career, Taurean Prince has averaged 9.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 38.4 percent from deep. During his playoff career, those numbers drop to 6.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 30.7 percent from deep. He just hasn't been a player who teams can rely on once the postseason begins.
He can help, but he shouldn't be the main player the Milwaukee Bucks rely on to play small forward. Sticking with that same point, Kyle Kuzma shouldn't be either. After coming over at the trade deadline, Doc Rivers typically used Kuzma, a power forward, at the small forward spot, which made for plenty of clunky lineups. The Bucks simply cannot afford to roll those name dice next season.
Both Taurean Prince and Kyle Kuzma should be reserves next season. Kuzma, if he's still around with the Bucks, should be the backup to Giannis. Prince, fresh off his new deal, should be the backup to whatever player starts at small forward, like he was initially intended to be for Khris Middleton when the Milwaukee Bucks signed him last summer.
It's far easier said than done, but the Milwaukee Bucks must now beef up the small forward rotation by adding another player or two. The free agent market is pretty bare almost a week in, so their best bet may be the trade market. Trey Murphy III or Herb Jones would be nice, while Andrew Wiggins may serve as a more realistic option.
There's still plenty of offseason left, and there's no telling what the Milwaukee Bucks will do, but a small forward addition could do this depth chart some good. Again, Prince can be a useful player for this Milwaukee Bucks squad, but it should come as a member of the second unit, where he isn't expected to be one of the team's most important pieces.
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