Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 realistic expectations for Taurean Prince for ’21-22

Realistic expectation #2 for Prince: He could eventually be traded by the Cavs before the deadline

While Prince has been a solid shot creator/shooter for the Cavaliers off the bench when he’s been available since being acquired, he, along with Cedi Osman, was a key player mentioned in trade rumors leading into the league’s past March 25 deadline.

Both of those Cleveland rotational wings did stick through the deadline, ultimately, but Prince is set to be an expiring player that’s set to make $13 million. That’s not former Cav JaVale McGee’s prior $4.2 million contract, per se, but on an expiring deal, if Cleveland were to look to move Prince, I would imagine they eventually could at some point before or near the deadline.

Now, the 27-year-old Prince again has shown that he can be an effective player, and he’s been locked-in/fully healthy, he has shown he can be a competent defender. His instincts on that end generally have seemed to be what one would want in a rotational sense too, although the play has had some inconsistencies.

Nonetheless, also factoring in Isaac Okoro, and whether or not Dylan Windler can prove to be healthy next season and effective in a rotational role, some at the 2 and 3, and Osman somewhat, Cleveland could draft a 3/4.

That, to go with Larry Nance Jr. and Dean Wade, when considering that Prince has played a solid chunk as a 4, too, and/or clearly Kevin Love, if he’s still around, could eventually lead to Cleveland choosing to deal Prince, one would think.

Perhaps the Cavs could be able to get a promising young player back as part of a package, if Prince has been playing well, to go with matching and a future second-round pick, for example? I could maybe see that.

Granted, if Prince has been making a key difference for the Cavaliers off the bench, and has been mostly healthy/looking to consistently provide a bench scoring spark, then maybe Cleveland doesn’t eventually choose to trade him. We’d have to see there, especially if the Cavs are firmly appearing to be making strides and in the playoff/play-in mix.

Either way, I could foresee Cleveland adding the likes of wing/combo forward prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft such as Jonathan Kuminga, Scottie Barnes or Jalen Johnson. And that’d likely play more into Prince potentially getting dealt, too, one would have to believe.

We’ll again have to see, albeit Taurean, so long as he’s with the Cavaliers, I’d still imagine could be a solid rotational piece for Cleveland on the offensive end, if he can be mostly healthy/fully recovered from ankle surgery. His play leading up to that was definitely a key bright spot.