Despite mentioning a desire to return just last month, Taurean Prince will be leaving the Lakers and has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Bucks.
Taurean Prince will not return to the Lakers next season as he intends to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks. Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to report on the forward leaving Los Angeles.
Prince averaged 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 39.6 percent from 3-point land in 78 games for the Lakers last season. He’s now expected to play a strong role in the Bucks frontcourt. https://t.co/VsEoPP3cfB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
Prince's departure is a surprise, as just last month, he expressed interest in returning to the Lakers.
Words anyone says prior to deals getting done should always be taken with a grain of salt, but leaving for the Bucks was unexpected.
Funnily enough, Prince will now be reunited with former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, now an assistant for Doc Rivers in Milwaukee.
As a Laker last year, Ham utilized Prince heavily.
He played 27 minutes per game, the fifth-highest on the team. He also started 49 of the 78 games he played in, with many of those starts happening early on in the season before Ham eventually relegated Prince to the bench.
Starting so heavily early on was obviously a mistake, but Prince did have a productive season in purple and gold.
He shot 39.6% from 3-point range, the second-best mark of his career, falling just decimal points short of his self-proclaimed goal of shooting 40% from beyond the arch.
He also averaged a respectable 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Late in the year, coming off the bench, he was playing some of his best basketball as a Laker.
Prince is a quality 3-and-D player in the proper role, but perhaps he saw the writing on the wall that those minutes would not be available for him in Los Angeles.
Ham is gone, and JJ Redick is at the helm. No one knows his coaching style or player preferences will be.
Factor in a full roster with wings like Rui Hachimura and Max Christie, along with new additions such as Dalton Knecht and it’s reasonable for Prince to look elsewhere for a home where he feels his role is more solidified.
While Prince’s production will be missed for the Lakers, it does open up playing time, some money and a roster spot.
So his walking doesn’t have to be negative if the Lakers can use it as an opportunity to improve the roster by either adding a new player or giving that role to someone who can produce better in it.
This live story will be updated.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
