One of the more underrated signings of the offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers was Taurean Prince, who was shockingly let go by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Prince wound up signing with L.A. on a discount with a one-year, $4.5 million contract. The forward shot 38.1% from 3 on 3.6 attempts this past season with the ability to play perimeter defense against some of the better wing players in the league.
He now enters a situation to compete for a championship for the first time in his career and gets to see what life is like playing alongside LeBron James. The Timberwolves and Lakers had their share of battles last season with both teams fighting for playoff positioning and facing off in the Play-In Tournament. Prince, however, shared a sentimental moment between James and his son after a regular season game, via Lakers:
Bringing a tough, veteran presence and reuniting with DLo & Vando — Get to Know Taurean Prince ? pic.twitter.com/v3AmRRwR8N
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 29, 2023
“The one memory that stands out with me when it comes to LeBron is last season. After the game, he went up to my son and allowed my son to take his arm sleeve. Ever since then, my son cuts off the arm sleeves of his pajamas and doesn’t want to do anything besides have one arm sleeve on cause LeBron James wears an arm sleeve.”
It was a truly wholesome moment between Prince’s son and James, who is obviously the favorite player of many fans across the world. To have the four-time champion single out Prince’s son and share that moment is something he’ll never forget as he grows up and it seems he’s already lavishing the moment.
Fast forward and now Prince is joining the Lakers so his son will be able to attend games and see James on a consistent basis, which will be another added bonus. Prince is an experienced forward in this league and is striving to shoot 40% from 3 for L.A., which will do wonders for their floor spacing.
He joins a team that is coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance and will add that length, shooting and defense on the wing that the Lakers desperately needed last season to hopefully get them over the hump and win a championship this upcoming season.
Prince believes Darvin Ham’s defense-first mindset fits him perfectly
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham preaches defense and getting after it on that side of the floor, Prince believes that mentality fits him perfectly as a player.
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