Brooklyn Nets: Don’t forget about Taurean Prince

The Brooklyn Nets’ acquisition of Taurean Prince was almost an afterthought when the trade was announced in early June. What can he bring to the table?

The Brooklyn Nets have one main priority this summer: free agency. The team’s biggest move on draft night was arguably not the drafting of any player, but the trading of the 27th pick to create more cap room.

(Credit to NBA.com, basketball-reference and KenPom for statistics and NF for GIFs.)

In early June, the Nets traded Allen Crabbe, the No. 17 pick and a protected 2020 first-rounder to the Hawks for Taurean Prince and a 2021 second round pick. Again, the main purpose of the this transaction was seemingly to create cap space for this summer. Crabbe is set to make $18.5 million next season, while the 25-year-old Prince is slated for only $3.5 million (restricted free agent after season).

Regardless of how free agency plays out, however, Prince can provide real value to Brooklyn. With Crabbe gone and DeMarre Carroll, Jared Dudley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson all free agents, the Nets could use the additional support at the wing position.

Selected 12th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, the 6’8″ Prince was projected as a strong “3-and-D” wing. He was regarded as a good defender at Baylor and shot 36.1 percent from long range his senior season. He was also an “expert” on rebounding.

In Prince’s three-year career, the 3-point shot has translated, but the perception is that his defense has been lacking. There are three potential “excuses” for this shortcoming, however.

First, Prince is still young and could reasonably be expected to improve his defense over time. Second, it can be difficult for any player to thrive on a poor defensive team (the Hawks were 28th last season in defensive rating).

Third, Prince missed 18 games this past December and January with an ankle injury, and he feels this hindered his defense even after he returned. “Obviously, with better health, I’ll be a better defender. I’ll be able to move the way I want to,” Prince said in April.

If his defense improves, Prince’s strong shooting would make him a very valuable asset. With 53.0 percent of his shots last season coming from beyond the arc, Prince hit a solid 39.0 percent of them.

In fact, Prince was one of only 15 players last season to meet all of the following criteria:

1. At least 39.0 percent 3-point percentage
2. At least 53.0 percent 3-point attempt rate
3. At least 55 games played

Prince doesn’t generate many of these shots for himself, as 85.3 percent of his 123 3-pointers were assisted last season. He thrived from the corners in particular, hitting 43.8 percent from the left corner and 42.6 percent from the right corner (37.1 percent from above the break).

Prince was okay when he attacked the basket, hitting 64.7 percent of his shots in the restricted area, but he struggled on the “tweener” shots that were categorized as in the paint but outside the restricted area (made only 36.9 percent). To be fair, however, these are tough shots that require great touch.

Although there’s room for improvement, Prince should slide right into the rotation and provide valuable minutes from the get-go. His solid shooting will fit right in to Kenny Atkinson’s “3-point heavy” strategy.

In a stronger defensive system, there’s plenty of reason to expect the Nets coaching staff to get more out of Prince on that end of the floor. Additionally, Atlanta was a very young team, and Prince could benefit from the veteran presences of DeMarre Carroll and/or Jared Dudley if they re-sign. Some even compared compared Prince to Carroll in the pre-draft process.

Even if the Nets hit a home run in free agency and land some stars, the team will still need complementary players to round out the roster. With a bit of improvement, Taurean Prince could be perfect for this role.