The Lakers quickly dipped into NBA free agency, signing small forward Taurean Prince to a one-year, $4.5 million deal to add to the strength of their bench.
According to Shams Charania, the Lakers have signed Taurean Prince. Prince was waived by the Timberwolves due to the fact that the team was over the tax.
Prince will be accepting around $4.5 million deal via one of the Lakers' mid-level exceptions, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The contract is for one year.
The Lakers reportedly tried to target Bruce Brown and Brook Lopez with their mid-level exception but it seems like their chase for those two players will most likely not end up succeeding. Brown is reportedly signing with the Pacers.
What does signing Taurean Prince mean for the Lakers going forward?
This is an amazing get for the Lakers, who just gained another 3-and-D wing that could help in a league that is full of elite wing players.
With that in mind, LA will still need to re-sign Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura for this to be a successful offseason.
The two players are restricted free agents and the Lakers are in control of whether they end up with the team. If they are able to get a starting-level point guard, this would be a perfect offseason
If Los Angeles is unable to get a starting-level point guard, they could end up shifting LeBron James to the point guard position on offense instead.
It would not really matter if the team was able to get a starting-level point guard for the defensive end due to the fact that they could have wings help on that end.
In short, adding Prince is a really good move for the Lakers and a great way to begin free agency.
