Cavs: Taurean Prince is benefiting from change of scenery

It’s evident that regarding the two recent Cleveland Cavaliers‘ trade acquisitions, that Jarrett Allen is the one that will be a bigger piece, one would imagine, looking onward. That’s when you consider Allen is just 22, and that with Andre Drummond on an expiring deal, the rumors/reports of potential trades will only be a constant from here.

Now, rumors/reports of Drummond being eventually bought out by the Cavs and joining the Brooklyn Nets seem far-fetched, frankly, but either way, he doesn’t appear to be in Cleveland’s long-term plans. Allen, conversely, who has already proven to have great touch inside as a roller/occasionally on hooks, is an active rebounder, and he’s had 1.8 blocks per contest with the Cavs.

He’ll be a player that should almost certainly be locked-up this offseason, anyhow. That’s via new deal or if the Cavs need to match a restricted free agent offer sheet.

That said, Taurean Prince, the other trade acquisition that came over from the Nets, in that prior James Harden-centric mega deal, has looked to be a quality add as well. And it appears that the new club for Prince has paid dividends for him, and realistically, the Cavs.

The change of scenery has benefited Prince, and in turn, the Cavs.

Prince was seemingly in an awkward place previouwsly with Brooklyn, and although he did have flashes a bit last season earlier on with them, he wasn’t flourishing as he was in his last two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.

In 2019-20, Prince had 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest in predominantly a small-ball 4 role with Kevin Durant sidelined, but he hit only 33.9 percent of his three-point attempts, and he often appeared out of place. He at times seemed to be pressing, and in other instances, just wasn’t involved, and defensively, there were ups and downs.

And during Prince’s time with the Nets this season, with Durant back, Taurean’s role was even less defined, and ended up having 8.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per outing. But he was playing 18.2 minutes per contest, as compared to 29.0 the year prior, and just seemed to have a tough time getting into a rhythm.

On the Hawks, Prince was thriving in his role more, and in his second and third seasons with Atlanta, had 14.1 points and 13.5 points per game, and hit 38.5 and 39.0 from downtown. That was in a 3 man role, and overall, he just looked to be picking his spots, and getting to his preferred areas more on the floor, both in the catch-and-shoot and pull-up realm.

Fortunately, Prince, who has started out averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 25.0 minutes per outing with the Cavs in five games, appears to have landed on two feet, if you will, since the trade.

And although the sample size is small, and Prince playing the Nets in his first two games with the Cavs likely helped a bit, the change of scenery has seemingly paid off for him at this point alongside Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman and others.

Following the Cavs’ victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, a game in which he had 16 points on six-of-10 shooting, to go with seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 30 minutes, Prince touched on that sort of thing. He credited the Cavs for making sure he was acclimated from the jump, and his ability to adapt has helped him here, as he alluded to, via Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.

"“Credit to them, they embraced me from Day One,” Prince said about his fit with the Cavs. “It shows what type of player I am and how easy it is for me to adapt to any situation. Whatever I’m asked to do I feel like I have the capability and ability to do it. I had the mindset of telling myself I was going to fit in. Not many places I’ve been or teams I’ve been on or players I’ve played with that I haven’t fit in. I think it’s just about taking advantage of the opportunities, showing what I can do and trying to be the glue guy.”"

I wouldn’t say Prince fit in as well as Nets fans would’ve hoped with Brooklyn, objectively, but it’s apparent that this change of scenery has started off well for him with the Wine and Gold. Now are we going to keep seeing Prince shoot 48.7 percent/in that ball park for an extended period?

He’s going to be taking the vast majority of his shots from the perimeter, so no, clearly.

Albeit as Jordan Clarkson turned out to be as a player attached in Cleveland’s 2018 deadline trade for Larry Nance Jr. a few years back looking onward, Prince has looked to be much more than a “throw-in” included in a deal for near-salary-matching purposes, as Fedor demonstrated.

"“In 2018, Clarkson supposedly arrived as the ‘other guy,’ with Nance. Far from it, Clarkson rebuilt his reputation as one of the league’s premier bench scorers, became a go-to source of offense, one of the team’s best players, and boosted his trade value, allowing the Cavs to cash in last December.With Prince acclimating so quickly, the Jarrett Allen trade looks like a rerun.”"

The 26-year-old Prince, who is set to make $12.25 million over the course of this season and $13 million next season, could potentially be an expiring trade chip next season, if he continues to play well for the Cavs, as Fedor essentially touched on. But maybe if he looks to be a long-term fit, perhaps the Cavaliers could look to potentially extend him, if it’s fairly reasonable, down the road.

We’ll have to see, and Cleveland has the likes of Isaac Okoro, Osman and Dylan Windler, for example, too, factored into the wing rotation/outlook, one would imagine. The Cavs and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, regardless of their injury situation, I’d think will get those pieces heavily involved and often with a combination of at least two on the floor a bunch anyway, though.

Moreover, it’s encouraging to know that Prince seems to be comfortable with the Wine and Gold, and him saying this, via Fedor, leads one to believe he’ll make the most of this situation.

"“It’s all about finding a home. Control what you can control,” Prince said."

Hopefully he’ll continue to provide the Cavs with productive minutes.

I’d imagine that behind the scenes Prince should help the younger guys to an extent, too, but he’s also still fairly young at 26 himself as well, which makes for an intriguing outlook.