New York Knicks: 3 players to target in potential salary dumps
By Chip Murphy
New York Knicks salary dump trade target No. 2: Taurean Prince
The Brooklyn Nets will have a lot of competition to sign Joe Harris this offseason. ESPN cap expert Bobby Marks estimated a starting salary for Harris at $12.2 million and a luxury tax bill of $50 million for the Nets. That’s chump change for owner Joe Tsai, but a chance to get off a bad contract is one Brooklyn will take.
Sean Marks has made many good moves with the Nets, but the Taurean Prince extension is easily one of his worst. Prince looked like a steal after he was acquired from the Hawks for Allen Crabbe, the draft rights to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and a lottery-protected 2020 first-round pick.
But Marks screwed up when he gave Prince two years and $29 million (with incentives) before he ever played a regular season game for the Nets. Fortunately, the extension doesn’t kick in until the 2020-21 season, when Prince is owed $12.2 million. He’s owed $13 million in 2021-22.
Prince started at small forward in Atlanta — with spots at the four — next to John Collins. So Brooklyn planned to make him a full-time stretch four. Prince certainly looked the part at 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot wingspan. He carried a 39 percent average from beyond the arc in his first three NBA seasons.
Unfortunately, Prince’s move to power forward didn’t go as planned. He launched more catch and shoot 3-pointers than all but ten players last season, but he ranked 141st out of the 209 players who attempted 100 catch and shoot threes. Prince’s 3-point attempt rate was at a career-high, and his shooting percentages torpedoed.
The Knicks are in a position to cross their fingers and hope they get a version of the Prince from 2018-19. That guy shot 42.8 percent on catch and shoot threes, finished in the 89th percentile of spot up plays (via Synergy), and the 87th percentile in points per shot attempt (via CTG).
Another factor is Prince’s representation — the Creative Artists Agency. In case you’re one of the few Knicks fans left who hasn’t heard, Leon Rose used to run the basketball division at CAA. The Nets are all-in on winning a championship right now so they won’t place a premium on draft picks.
Trading for Taurean Prince isn’t as fun as driving up the price for Joe Harris, but it’s a move the Knicks need to consider. Prince is an asset that good teams will probably overvalue — like the Nets once did. New York can easily take advantage of that.
If Prince reverts to his 2018-19 form in the future, there’s a strong chance Rose and co. may pull off another deal like the Marcus Morris trade from last season. Adding good players while picking up as many first-round picks as possible is a good strategy right now.