Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but he said on Friday that he “plans to return” to Minnesota for next season, as Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News relays (video link).
Prince told reporters that the strong camaraderie in the Wolves’ locker room is something he hasn’t experienced since college and praised head coach Chris Finch, comparing him to Mike Budenholzer, who coached Prince in Atlanta at the start of his NBA career. The 28-year-old added that he hopes Minnesota reciprocates his interest.
Prince averaged 7.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG on .454/.376/.756 shooting in 69 regular season games (17.1 MPG) during his first year in Minnesota. The Wolves will hold his Bird rights this summer, so they would be able to go over the cap to re-sign him without using any of their mid-level exception.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie earned a $100K bonus on Thursday when Dallas beat Utah to advance to the second round, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Dinwiddie would receive another $571K if the Mavs get past Phoenix and earn a spot in the Western Conference Finals.
- Having played for four teams and eight head coaches since entering the NBA in 2015, Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. would welcome some stability and said on Friday that he’d like to make New Orleans his permanent home, tweets William Guillory of The Athletic. Nance has just one year left on his current contract, but will be extension-eligible this offseason.
- With Monte McNair believed to be entering the final guaranteed year of his contract with the Kings, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee wonders if the general manager will feel pressure to hire a veteran head coach such as Mike D’Antoni instead of a candidate without any head coaching experience.
Been saying for yrs. Kings should sign DAntoni. He would help Fox immensely. They should sign him before draft. Kings have a solid pick. And have some good pieces to be a playoff team next yr. Sign DAntoni …..
Hopefully the way Brunson has played. The Mavs now will sign him. And move Dinwiddie. Knicks should be on this. Send Randle back home to Dallas.
Why would the Mavs, or just about anyone, want Randle? Mavericks just got rid of a malcontent player that thought he was much better than he was. Getting Randle would be akin to having Kristaps back on the team. Unless the Knicks were attaching an insane amount of draft picks to Randle, no thanks.
No disrespect to Brunson, as he was amazing against the Jazz. The only word of caution, is the Jazz made players like him look like superstars all year. I still think Brunson is a very very good player. Won’t be surprised to see him on your Knicks next year. His dad is his agent, which will make for an interesting series of negotiations.
Hardaway and Dinwiddie both have similar abilities. I think you’re right that Dinwiddie could be moved. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Hardaway moved instead. Will be a intriguing off season for the Mavs. Lots of options.
Nance was excellent in the series vs the Suns. I hope he sticks, if not it seems he may be just another journeyman. I get it, he doesn’t offer much on offense but given solid minutes he could be an All-Defense type player.