This summer presents several tough decisions for the Los Angeles Lakers as they look to get back into contention. While the last free agency period earned some praise for Rob Pelinka, it did not pan out with a championship. Now heading into this offseason, one decision they have to make is whether they re-sign Taurean Prince or let him walk in free agency.
There are mixed opinions on Prince and what he provides to a team trying to win a championship. Former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham had him in the starting lineup and playing heavy minutes to begin the year, which is not a role Prince is necessarily used to in the NBA. But once he was slotted into a bench role, he played really solid minutes for L.A. down the stretch of the season.
Despite that though, Prince admits that he likes starting and believes he’s earned a starting spot in the NBA.
“I definitely prefer starting,” Prince told Lakers Nation. “I think I’m a starter in this league. I think I still can be, but at the same time I’m very professional and very aware depending on the roster and etc. of what my role could be coming off the bench and I’m completely content with that. It depends on the roster and the position that the team was in.”
Someone not having a consistent role can definitely negatively impact their play and there were some instances of that with Prince. However, he did not find issue with his role evolving and shared that it is not the first time trying to fill different roles.
“No, I think that’s kind of what I did my rookie year as well and my second year when I was thrown in the fire just having to guard Kyrie one night, Serge Ibaka the next night, Marc Gasol one night because we were switching everything,” he said. “It’s just a different level of focus you have to have just pretty much knowing the whole roster and like you said, guarding anybody. So that’s the great thing about it, I wouldn’t change that position for anything in the world.”
All things considered, Prince had a positive season with L.A. as he shot nearly 40% from 3 and provided some consistent spacing for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It will be intriguing to see if Prince and Pelinka can reach an agreement to keep this partnership going.
Taurean Prince ‘100%’ wants to re-sign with Lakers in free agency
After signing a bi-annual exception contract last free agency with the Lakers, Taurean Prince’s market could be interesting as teams are always looking for 3-and-D wings. Yet when asked about what he wants this free agency, Prince said he ‘100%’ wants to re-sign with L.A.
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