Atlanta Hawks: 2017-18 player grades for Taurean Prince

Weaknesses

At 6’8″, 220 pounds with a 6’11” wingspan, Prince has the length and size to defend multiple positions. Those types of players are must-have commodities in today’s NBA, and Atlanta needed to find someone with those skills after letting Caroll and Thabo Sefolosha leave in recent years.

Prince has the profile to fill that void, but he needs to improve his defensive consistency. While he flashed some of that potential to be a lanky disruptor on defense, there were times when he struggled.

For instance, opponents shot 47.2 percent when Prince guarded them (league average is 46 percent). Worse yet, the Hawks were a better defensive team without him, as their defensive rating dropped from 113.2 to 108.9 when Prince was off the court.

Prince wasn’t a total liability on D; he did limit opponents to 33 percent on 3-point shots (league average is 36 percent). He also picked up two defensive win shares this year (although he gathered 1.5 in 59 games last year). But the results just weren’t there on a nightly basis.

As he matures, Prince will adjust to the size and speed of NBA players. He’s way too gifted athletically and length-wise to be a poor defender. But as his numbers this year suggest, he still has a lot of work to do on this end.