NBA free agency is finally here and teams wasted no time in getting deals done early in the period. Thanks to the new CBA that discourages spending above the second tax apron, there were some surprising additions to the free agent pool.
For example, Taurean Prince shockingly had his team option declined by the Minnesota Timberwolves and wound up with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers maneuvered earlier in the week to open up more avenues toward signing free agents by declining Malik Beasley’s team option and waiving Mo Bamba’s non-guaranteed deal. This opened up the non-taxpayer mid-level exception for Los Angeles, who also had the bi-annual exception as well, which presumably is being used on Prince.
Grabbing Prince in free agency is a win for the Lakers, especially given the news that Troy Brown Jr. is signing with the Timberwolves, via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Free agent Troy Brown has agreed to a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Calvin Andrews of Klutch Sports tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2023
Prince presumably slides into one of the forward spots on Los Angeles, which leaves even fewer minutes for Brown who was eventually benched down the stretch due to his poor shooting from outside. The two teams essentially traded wing players, though it makes sense given the state of their respective rosters.
Brown had a decent year for the Lakers as he was called upon to be one of their 3-and-D wings and looked like one of their best rotation players after the trade deadline. With LeBron James out, Brown stepped up as a more reliable scoring threat and a player who could defend bigger guards and opposing wings when needed.
Losing Brown isn’t too terrible now that Prince has reportedly agreed to join the team, though the front office would best be served scouring the market for more wing-sized players that are able to shoot. Some of their reported targets have signed elsewhere, so they must act fast in order to not miss out on another valuable contributor.
Bruce Brown signs with Pacers in free agency
One player who was getting heavily linked to the Lakers was Bruce Brown. Brown was coming off an excellent postseason run where he helped the Denver Nuggets win their first title, making him a hot commodity around the league.
Although Los Angeles was growing confident they could sign him in free agency, Brown signed a lucrative two-year, $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers instead.
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