Tag: Taurean Prince

Taurean Prince names the Lakers as ‘America’s Team’

During his one season with the Lakers, forward Taurean Prince experienced how they’re America’s most popular NBA team.

Even when they aren’t so great, the Los Angeles Lakers have a huge following around the country, even far away from Southern California. One only needs to look at the large pockets of Lakers fans in the stands for road games, especially in places such as Sacramento, Atlanta and even the New York City area.

While they would never embrace the nickname of “America’s Team,” unlike a certain brash NFL team based in Texas, the Lakers could lay claim to being the nation’s most popular basketball team.

Former Lakers forward Taurean Prince, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent a few weeks ago, was asked which basketball team is America’s team while on the “Run your Race” podcast, and he said it’s the Purple and Gold (at 59:28).

“L.A. Yeah, 100%. I mean, you know now-a-days everybody cares about Instagram, so go look at the followers. The Lakers got 26 million or something, the next closest is like I think it’s Boston with eight million. That tells you right there. Win, lose or draw, no matter who you see out on the streets… I guarantee you those rookies that signed in L.A., Bron’s son and the other rookie, I forgot where he’s from, I think from Tennessee, I guarantee you people are walking up to them saying ‘Let’s go win the championship.’ Every day. No matter what the team looks like, no matter who is on it.”

Prince had a solid season with Los Angeles, meeting his publicly stated goal of shooting 40% from 3-point range. The team will certainly miss his long-range marksmanship and will need other players to pick up the slack in that department.

Taurean Prince plans on signing with the Bucks

A key Lakers rotation player and one of their best 3-point threats is reportedly joining another team.

So far, this offseason has been perceived as a weak or disappointing one for the Los Angeles Lakers. They haven’t made any additions or improvements to their roster, other than draft picks Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, and fans feel the team perhaps simply hasn’t made an attempt to bring in any new blood.

Under new head coach JJ Redick, it looks like 3-point shooting will be a greater emphasis, especially in terms of volume. Los Angeles was eighth in 3-point shooting percentage this past season, but it ranked just 28th in 3-point attempts.

On Wednesday, their hopes of improving in both 3-point accuracy and volume took a hit when forward Taurean Prince agreed to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Prince shot an excellent 39.6% from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts a game during the 2023-24 season. The Lakers will now need to replace that production, not to mention his ability to adequately eat up plenty of minutes at the small forward position.

Lakers are interested in re-signing Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince

The Lakers reportedly want to keep two of their depth pieces.

The first official day of NBA free agency ended with the Los Angeles Lakers making just one move — re-signing 21-year-old guard Max Christie to a four-year deal that will reportedly be worth $32 million.

It looks like their main free agent target, at least right now, is five-time All-Star guard Klay Thompson. Thompson, who is 34 years of age, is diminished after ACL and Achilles injuries a few years ago, but he is still a bona fide 3-point threat who needs to be accounted for.

The Lakers have some other incumbent players who are free agents, including, of course, LeBron James, who may be willing to take a pay cut on his next contract to accommodate someone such as Thompson.

They’re reportedly expected to have interest in keeping two of their other players who are now free agents: guard Spencer Dinwiddie and wing Taurean Prince.

Via HoopsHype:

“Before signing with the Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks expressed significant interest in Dinwiddie once he became a free agent, as both teams valued his ability to penetrate off the dribble and guard on the perimeter,” wrote Michael Scotto.

“Now, the Lakers and Mavericks are once again expected to have interest in Dinwiddie again as he enters free agency, league sources told HoopsHype.”

Dinwiddie came to Los Angeles from the buyout market in February, and while he was a disappointment, especially offensively, he did shoot well from 3-point range at times. If he were to remain with L.A., the hope is that improved coaching from JJ Redick would unleash his offensive capabilities.

While Prince is largely a one-dimensional player, that one dimension — 3-point shooting — is very important to a Lakers team that finished near the bottom of the NBA in 3-point attempts this past season. He did make an outstanding 39.6% of his attempts from downtown during the 2023-24 campaign.

“While we’re on the topic of Lakers players, the team is interested in re-signing forward Taurean Prince, league sources told HoopsHype.

“… Should Prince return to the Lakers, rival NBA executives project Prince to potentially command a deal somewhere in the range of two years and $11 million, which could be done by using his non-bird rights where the Lakers can offer a contract beginning at 120 percent of his salary from the previous season.”

Finances are a big issue for the Lakers, but some deft maneuvering by general manager Rob Pelinka, plus some good old-fashioned luck, could still result in a roster that will look significantly better this fall.

Taurean Prince: Anthony Davis should’ve gotten more Defensive Player of the Year consideration

One of Anthony Davis’ teammates feels Davis may have gotten disrespected in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

Plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans feel Anthony Davis is the best overall defensive player in the NBA. He is not only an outstanding shot-blocker and rim protector, but he can also switch out onto the perimeter and guard players at any position.

He has gotten big defensive stops against even small guards while switching out onto the perimeter. Most notably, he stopped Stephen Curry on back-to-back shot attempts near the end of Game 4 of last year’s Western Conference semifinals to give Los Angeles a big victory.

However, Davis didn’t win this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award. In fact, he wasn’t even named as one of the finalists for the honor.

During an interview with Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, forward Taurean Prince feels that perhaps Davis got snubbed.

“Yeah, 100%,” Prince said. “We on the team know who AD is.

“But that’s more than just an individual accolade, in my opinion. The person who got it in Rudy is on a team that’s winning exceptionally well throughout the season consistently at that time. We had a lot of ups and downs, so I think that plays a big part in it when you have people voting on that. Awards are something that are just something to look at, but nothing that really predicts the facts, in my opinion, all the time.”

The superstar big man was, however, named to the All-Defensive First Team, the first time he has earned that accolade since the 2019-20 season.

Even though he had arguably his best season ever and appeared in a career-high 76 regular season games, he still doesn’t get the respect he deserves from some fans and sportswriters.

Taurean Prince says he wants to stay with the Lakers

Lakers forward and 3-point specialist Taurean Prince is about to become a free agent, and it sounds like he wants to stay.

Taurean Prince developed into a somewhat polarizing figure among fans of the Los Angeles Lakers this season. He began the season in the starting lineup, and then-head coach Darvin Ham leaned on him. He was logging 30.4 minutes a game through his first 47 games of the season.

Some fans hated the fact he was playing so much, especially given how lackluster defensively he was.

In February, Ham pivoted and went with Rui Hachimura in the starting lineup while moving Prince to the bench. As a result, Prince’s playing time was significantly reduced, but he still found a way to help the team.

The forward ended up shooting 39.6% from 3-point range for the season, which was just off his preseason goal of shooting 40% from that distance.

In an interview with Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, Prince, who will be a free agent this summer, said he wants to remain with the Purple and Gold.

“My family, the quality of life in Los Angeles is something that myself and my family haven’t had in probably three or four seasons,” Prince said. “So to stay here would be definitely number one. If not that, then I mean, wherever the dominoes fall and wherever it’s best, that’s where I’ll be. But I for sure want to be a Laker, 100%.”

Although the Lakers finished the regular season eighth in 3-point shooting percentage, they were 28th in 3-point attempts. Therefore, they cannot really afford to lose a good outside shooter such as Prince without securing a solid replacement.

Taurean Prince essentially accomplished his major goal for the 2023-24 season

Many Lakers fans may feel Taurean Prince is a very mediocre player, but he did do very well in one important department.

Last summer, one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ free agent signings was Taurean Prince, a 6-foot-6 forward who had played seven seasons in the NBA with four teams. He was regarded as a 3-and-D player, which was something the Lakers lacked during the previous couple of seasons.

Prince began the regular season in then-head coach Darvin Ham’s starting lineup, which led some to criticize Ham, especially when he later settled on Rui Hachimura for that starting small forward spot. Prince was lackluster defensively and didn’t help much on the boards, but he contributed in an important area: 3-point shooting.

Before the season started, he said he wanted to shoot 40% from 3-point range for the season. He struggled in November, but Ham stuck with him and played him major minutes during the first few months of the season, which led to more criticism.

However, Prince came on strong starting in December, and he ended the regular season at 39.6% from downtown.

He was moved to the bench in February in favor of Hachimura, and it seems as if that was the move that got the Lakers going. It also may have helped Prince improve his shooting efficiency.

As a starter this season, he made 43.1% of his field-goal attempts and 38.4% of his 3-point attempts. But as a reserve, he ended up at 46.9% overall and 42.9% from downtown.

Prince will be a free agent this summer. While many Lakers fans may not want him back, he can continue to help a Lakers team that struggled mightily from 3-point land early in the season, only to get hot afterward.

Darvin Ham is ‘highly unlikely’ to return as head coach of the Lakers, per reports. Here is why.

Darvin Ham may have already coached his final game for the Los Angeles Lakers.

After two years with the organization, Darvin Ham may have already coached his final game for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Despite an improbable run to the Western Conference Finals in 2023 as well as a championship in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Lakers arguably underperformed relative to expectations during Ham’s time as head coach.

Already reportedly on the hot seat amid a disconnect earlier this season, a first-round exit makes his case to return even less compelling.

Following another elimination against the Denver Nuggets in a second straight postseason for Los Angeles, it seemed possible that Ham had already accepted his own fate with the franchise. He reflected on his experience with the team, calling it a “hell of a two years” as head coach.

Some of the initial reporting provided further context as to why Ham may already know he could be on the way out as the head coach.

For example, the players reportedly felt the coaching staff held an “absence of effective direction” and the team occasionally felt they won games on their own (via The Athletic)

“[By] the time the Lakers’ season ended in Game 5 against Denver on Monday night, when Jamal Murray’s second game-winner of the first-round series sent the Lakers home less than a year after the Nuggets swept them last May, there were strong signs within the organization that Ham would be deemed most responsible.”

Per the report, Ham’s status as head coach is in “serious peril” and it is “highly unlikely” that he will return to the organization next season.

Other criticism included his “fluctuating rotations, game plans and lack of adjustments” during the regular season and playoffs. While players reportedly had “tremendous respect” for Ham as a person, they felt they needed someone to actually coach them as well.

Another report from Dave McMenamin was just as damning for the coach. Ham’s job status was described as “very much in jeopardy” heading into the offseason (via ESPN):

“The internal expectations to win the championship in June only heightened, while the fallout from shuffling his lineup — first benching Reaves and later D’Angelo Russell while sticking with Taurean Prince even after Jarred Vanderbilt had returned from a left heel injury that cost him the first 20 games of the season — hurt Ham’s reputation both inside and outside the organization, sources told ESPN.”

His “lack of accountability” came into question, as did his inability to settle on a starting lineup.

With all that in mind, fans of the team can likely expect a new head coach next season. As for the rest of the roster, though, that is far more uncertain.

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Taurean Prince won’t play in Friday’s Lakers versus 76ers game

The Lakers will be even more short-handed than they have been lately when the play the 76ers on Friday.

The Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams engaged in a frantic race for postseason positioning in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 37-32 and ninth in the West.

That puts them one-half game ahead of the Golden State Warriors and three games up on the red-hot Houston Rockets, who are in 11th place and have a seven-game winning streak.

On Friday, L.A. will host the Philadelphia 76ers, who are short-handed but must still be taken seriously. It has been very inconsistent all season when it comes to coming out with energy, intensity and urgency, especially against seemingly inferior opponents.

The Lakers will take the court on Friday evening without one of their main bench players. Wing Taurean Prince will reportedly not play due to what is being termed personal reasons.

The team is already short-handed. It is without guard Gabe Vincent, forward Jarred Vanderbilt and big man Christian Wood, which has significantly compromised its bench.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, Friday also happens to be Prince’s 30th birthday. Prince is also Muslim, and he is reportedly fasting as part of the observance of Ramadan.

Taurean Prince: Being benched allowed him to be more aggressive

Although Taurean Prince was moved out of the Lakers’ starting lineup versus the Knicks, he was able to see it in a positive light.

Los Angeles Lakers wing Taurean Prince has been a fixture in the team’s starting lineup so far this season. But on Saturday against the New York Knicks, he found himself having to adjust to a different role.

Head coach Darvin Ham moved him to the bench and went with Rui Hachimura at small forward in the starting lineup. It seemed to work, as the team scored a 113-105 victory at Madison Square Garden and ended New York’s nine-game winning streak.

Fans have criticized Ham for keeping Prince in the starting lineup and giving him heavy minutes despite Prince’s defensive shortcomings. After Saturday’s game, Prince said coming off the bench helped him be more aggressive offensively.

Via Lakers Nation:

“I mean it does allow me to be more aggressive with the second unit but at the end of the day, my job stays the same, to do whatever it is to help us win as many games as possible. Whether that’s starting or coming off the bench, you can’t be salty about it. You got to be a professional and do what you got to do to get it right.”

He had 16 points on 6-of-10 field-goal shooting and 3-of-6 from downtown versus the Knicks. Despite coming off the bench, he still played 33 minutes, while Hachimura logged 19 minutes.

Whether Lakers fans love or hate Prince, he does have to play a significant amount of minutes because he’s one of the team’s few legitimate spot-up 3-point shooters and floor spacers.

Taurean Prince will not play versus the Trail Blazers

The Lakers will be without one of their few 3-point snipers when they face the Trail Blazers on Sunday.

The 2023-24 season has been a seemingly never-ending string of mild but significant misfortunes for the Los Angeles Lakers. They have been unable to stay nearly or fully healthy for more than a few days at a time, and with a 21-22 record, the chances of them missing the playoffs are growing.

After defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks earlier this week behind strong defense, they went back to their old inept ways on Friday. Facing a weak Brooklyn Nets team, they blew a 12-point lead in the first half and practically shut themselves down en route to a 130-112 loss.

While L.A. will host the second-worst team in the Western Conference in the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, they have a new injury concern. Forward Taurean Prince has been dealing with left knee soreness and will not play.

Prince is arguably L.A.’s best 3-point shooter, especially in spot-up situations. He has made 38.7% of such attempts this season, and he leads the team with 225 3-point tries on the season.