Cavs: Three things that Taurean Prince brings to CLE
By Amadou Sow
After a couple more added components, the blockbuster James Harden trade is officially complete and Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince are Cleveland Cavaliers.
The added component to the deal saw a 2024 second-round pick, via the Cavs (the lesser of theirs/the Utah Jazz) previously sent to the Brooklyn Nets, as well as cash, go to the Indiana Pacers. That was because of an unfortunate issue found during Caris LeVert’s physical, per a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Per Charania, an MRI reportedly revealed a small mass on LeVert’s left kidney, after which he’ll be out indefinitely. Regarding the cash, that was $2.6 million sent from the Brooklyn Nets, LeVert’s former club, to Indiana, his now-club, per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. And hopefully, LeVert recovers fully in due time.
The main talk of this trade for the Cavaliers, though, had been about the addition of Jarrett Allen but, the Cavaliers also acquired Taurean Prince in this deal. Prince was drafted with the 12th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and at just 26 years old, his timeline does fit with our current young core. Prince’s career has been a tale with two different situations and a player who was once looking like a quality 3-and-D player is now looking like just another rotation player.
With the Atlanta Hawks, Prince averaged 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 38.0 from three-point range. Prince was then traded to the Brooklyn Nets and in two seasons with them, he had averaged 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game but his efficiency had dipped drastically to 37.9 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from three-point land.
Looking at this, it can be seen that the Nets weren’t the best fit for Prince but with how Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been able to bring the best out of his players, this team is a great one for Prince to continue his career.
Prince can provide a lot for this team if he can fit in for Bickerstaff and company.
In that realm, here, we’ll look at three things that Prince brings to the Cavs.
The first is along the lines of added depth.