Taurean Prince Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves Notes: Edwards, Gobert, Reid, Garza, Prince

January 7th, 2023 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

Anthony Edwards‘ evolution into the franchise player in Minnesota remains a work in progress, but the Timberwolves guard is viewed by teammates and coaches as a great listener who is willing to put in the work necessary to reach stardom, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports writes in a profile of the former No. 1 overall pick. One area of focus for the Wolves this season has been encouraging Edwards to find his teammates rather than forcing shots when opposing defenses double-team him.

“One thing we preach to him a lot is the essence of offense in the league is not how much you score, but when they put two on you and you create an advantage,” head coach Chris Finch said. “No matter how they do it, pick-and-roll trap, early gap help, all that stuff that comes from the gravity he creates, just trying to continue to find the right play and trusting his teammates to score. Keep trusting the right pass.”

While Edwards is averaging a career-best 4.4 assists per game through 40 appearances this season, it’s his scoring ability that makes him special. He’s averaging a career-best 23.7 points per contest so far this season and led the Wolves to a victory over Portland on Wednesday with a game-high 32.

“He’s six years away (from his prime) and he’s already this good,” teammate Austin Rivers said that night, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). “Franchise player. He’s the guy here. There’s no doubt about it.”

Unfortunately, Edwards exited Friday’s game in the third quarter due to a sore left hip that has been bothering him as of late, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Wolves still managed to pull out a solid 128-115 win over the visiting Clippers.

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

Seth Partnow of The Athletic took a closer look on Friday at some advanced stats that suggest Rudy Gobert‘s defensive impact has declined this season, writing that the big man’s regression is a cause for concern. Hours later, Gobert delivered perhaps his best game since arriving in Minnesota, piling up 25 points and 21 rebounds in the team’s victory over the Clippers. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best Rudy yet,” he said after the game (story via Hine). “I’ve been putting in a lot of work. My teammates are sticking with me. The coaching staff is sticking with me. And I know that it’s going to pay off. It’s a long season. My goal is to just keep raising my level every day and set the tone for these guys.”
After missing the Wolves’ previous two games due to back spasms, backup center Naz Reid played just nine minutes on Friday before exiting early due to the same injury, Hine writes.
With Reid and Karl-Anthony Towns both sidelined, two-way player Luka Garza got a chance to crack the rotation this week and delivered with 23 points in 27 minutes during the two games Reid missed. Though Garza felt comfortable on the offensive end of the court, he was more concerned about how he performed on defense, Hine writes for The Star Tribune. “I know that’s the decider of how long I can stay in this league,” Garza said. “If I could become a real rotation piece, it’s how good I get at that end. … I think at the end of the day, just playing hard is going to help you most of the time.”
Taurean Prince‘s return has given the Wolves a shot in the arm, Hine says in another Star Tribune story. Prince has played 47 total minutes off the bench in his two games back after missing 20 consecutive contests due to a right shoulder injury. He scored double-digit points on Wednesday and Friday, both Minnesota wins. “He was our most consistent player in a lot of ways in his role, when he went out,” Finch said on Wednesday. “I knew what I was going to get from him every night. He knows who he is. His game is super well-defined and he sticks to his strengths, so definitely pleased to have him back.”

Health Updates: LeBron, Walker, Prince, Bucks, SGA

January 4th, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James has been helping to keep the Lakers in the play-in race, averaging 36.6 points per game on 58.5% shooting during the club’s 3-2 road trip that wrapped up on Monday.

However, James won’t be available when the Lakers return home and host the Heat on Wednesday. He has been ruled out for the game due to a non-COVID illness, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Lakers guard Lonnie Walker will also miss his third consecutive contest, McMenamin adds. Previously listed as out due to a tailbone contusion, Walker is now on the injury report with left knee soreness.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince intends to make his return to action on Wednesday night vs. Portland, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Prince, who was dealing with a right shoulder subluxation, last played on November 23 — he has missed Minnesota’s last 20 games.
After playing on Tuesday night vs. Washington, Jrue Holiday (non-COVID illness) and Joe Ingles (left knee injury management) have been ruled out for the second half of the Bucks‘ back-to-back set on Wednesday in Toronto, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Khris Middleton (right knee soreness) and George Hill (non-COVID illness) will also remain sidelined.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed Tuesday’s game due to a non-COVID illness, but he’s not on Wednesday’s injury report, so it appears he’ll be available tonight in Orlando, tweets Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder.

Wolves Notes: Gobert, Anderson, McLaughlin, Prince

December 28th, 2022 at 10:27pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves need much more from center Rudy Gobert, who hasn’t been the player they thought they were trading for, according Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

As Krawczynski writes, the Wolves lost a winnable game on Monday when Miami was down its two best players in forward Jimmy Butler and center Bam Adebayo. Gobert was outplayed by undrafted two-way Heat rookie Orlando Robinson, which is inexcusable for a player of his stature.

Gobert’s numbers are down across the board, and he doesn’t appear to be as mobile or changing shots at the rim like he did while winning three Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Jazz. Krawczynski points out that perhaps the most concerning statistic is that Gobert’s blocked shots have plummeted down to 1.2 per game — the lowest since his rookie year in 2023/14, when he averaged fewer than 10 minutes per contest.

There’s still time to turn things around, and injuries to key rotation players haven’t helped. But to this point, the blockbuster trade is looking like a disaster for the Wolves, per Krawczynski.

For what it’s worth, Krawczynski said (via Twitter) that Gobert played “great” in Wednesday’s one-point loss to the Pelicans, which dropped the Wolves’ record to 16-19.

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

In a Q&A with Tania Ganguli of The New York Times (subscriber link), Gobert says he isn’t worried about being under a microscope as he adjusts to a new team. “It’s not hard for me. I want to win, I’m a competitor, so it’s hard to lose. But at the same time, I’m able to understand the bigger picture and to understand that you got to go through pain to grow. I’ve said every time people ask me, it’s going to be some adversity. And when adversity hits, obviously everybody will have something to say. People are always going to have opinions,” he said.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, head coach Chris Finch told reporters, including Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link), that forward Kyle Anderson is nearing a return. The Wolves hope to have him back for Friday’s game in Milwaukee. The veteran play-maker has been dealing with a non-COVID illness and back spasms.
Finch also provided injury updates on point guard Jordan McLaughlin (left calf strain) and forward Taurean Prince (right shoulder subluxation), two key role players for the Wolves. As Hine relays (via Twitter), Finch said McLaughlin will be reevaluated in about a week, while Prince has been doing on-court work, but there’s still no timetable for his return. McLaughlin has now missed 10 straight games with his calf injury. Prince has been out since November 25, missing 17 consecutive games.

Injury Notes: Nets, Conley, Prince, Adams

December 10th, 2022 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets will be extremely shorthanded when they visit Indiana on Saturday for the second half of a back-to-back set. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets, Brooklyn has ruled out eight players, including their entire regular starting lineup.

Kevin Durant (right knee injury management), Kyrie Irving (left adductor tightness), Ben Simmons (left knee/calf injury management), Royce O’Neale (personal reasons), Joe Harris (left ankle injury management), Seth Curry (left ankle injury management), Nic Claxton (right hamstring tightness), and T.J. Warren (left foot injury management) will all be unavailable for the Nets.

Those are eight of Brooklyn’s top nine players in terms of minutes per game, so we could see some wonky lineups from the team tonight. The ninth player on that list, Yuta Watanabe, is set to make his return after missing 10 games due to a hamstring injury, so the Nets will likely be hesitant to push him too hard in his first game back.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

After returning from a nine-game injury absence on Friday, Jazz guard Mike Conley will sit out Saturday’s game vs. Denver, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Conley didn’t suffer a setback on Friday — this is a planned rest game to ease him back into things following his knee injury, Jones explains.
Having already missed seven games due to a right shoulder subluxation, Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince is expected to be out for at least one more week, head coach Chris Finch said on Friday. As Dane Moore of Blue Wire Pods tweets, Prince is doing on-court work and making progress, but still has a ways to go.
Grizzlies center Steven Adams had a Pistons player roll into his ankle while he was trying to corral a defensive rebound in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game, writes Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Adams, who limped off the court and didn’t return, will be reevaluated this weekend, but said after the game that he felt OK, per Barnes. Memphis isn’t back in action until Monday, so Adams will have at least a couple days off to rest the ankle.

Karl-Anthony Towns Diagnosed With Calf Strain, Will Undergo MRI

November 28th, 2022 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves star forward Karl-Anthony Towns will be further evaluated on Tuesday after an initial diagnosis of a right calf strain, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets.

Towns suffered a non-contact injury during the third quarter of Minnesota’s contest against Washington on Monday night. He grabbed at the back of his leg as tried to head down the court. Towns needed assistance to be helped back to the locker room.

“Obviously super-concerned about that. Big blow for us,” coach Chris Finch said (Twitter link via David Aldridge of The Athletic).

Towns will get an MRI but there’s some early optimism that he may have avoided a substantial injury, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

It has been a disappointing season so far for the Timberwolves, whose record dropped to 10-11 with a loss to the Wizards. They were expected to be serious contenders in the Western Conference after the blockbuster trade with Utah that brought center Rudy Gobert to Minnesota.

An extended absence for Towns would make it much more difficult for a turnaround. He’s averaging 21.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

The Timberwolves frontcourt is already dealing with the absence of Taurean Prince, who expected to be out a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury. Jaden McDaniels missed Monday’s game due to an illness.

Northwest Notes: Gobert, Prince, Brown, Wiggins

November 26th, 2022 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rudy Gobert understood that the Timberwolves‘ adjustment wouldn’t be easy after shaking up their roster to acquire him from Utah, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Not only did Minnesota give up five players in the deal, the team committed to an entirely different style of play with Gobert clogging the middle and forming a modern-day Twin Towers alongside Karl-Anthony Towns.

Nineteen games into the season, Gobert’s concerns have been proven correct. The Wolves are a game above .500, but they’ve had some ugly losses along the way, including Friday’s at Charlotte, where it’s seemed like the pieces don’t really fit together.

“Each bad game, they’re going to be ready to talk. That’s great. We love it,” Gobert said before the season began. “That’s part of the process. Nothing great comes easy. If it was going to happen in one game, that wouldn’t be worth having. We gotta work hard and work every night to get better.”

After a 5-8 start, Minnesota had strung together five straight wins before Friday. But perimeter defenders have been relying too much on Gobert to bail them out after their man drives by, Krawczynski observes, and the chemistry between Gobert and D’Angelo Russell on the pick-and-roll remains a work in progress.

“Sometimes, you know, passes are tough. Sometimes I fumble it,” Gobert said. “Most of the time, I get it and something good happens. As long as we can keep that trust and I can try to put myself in the right spots for him to find me and whether it’s that pocket pass or that lob, any pass actually, just trusting me.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince suffered a right shoulder subluxation during Wednesday’s game and could miss a week or two, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Coach Chris Finch said Jordan McLaughlin is “more in the day-to-day category” with a left calf injury.
Bruce Brown continues to look like a major free agency bargain for the Nuggets, Mike Singer of The Denver Post notes. Brown posted his first career triple-double Wednesday to help Denver pull out a win despite the absence of four rotation players. “Some guys are in the foxhole with you, some guys, like they’ve got one foot in, one foot out,” Malone said. “Bruce is, he’s all the way in.”
Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins has the unusual distinction of five starts and five DNP-CDs already this season, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Coach Mark Daigneault explained that it’s a result of having so many young players to develop.

Northwest Notes: Prince, Nuggets Injuries, Watson, Grant

November 21st, 2022 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince said he’s relieved that a grand jury in Texas did not charge him with possession of a controlled substance stemming from a May 19 arrest, according to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“To me, I wasn’t in the wrong in the first place,” Prince said. “The situation that happened was very unfortunate. Things happen, for whatever reasons they happen. I’m past it now, though.”

Police in Arlington, Texas said after the arrest that they found guns and a vape pen with THC oil in Prince’s car when they stopped him for an expired registration. Possession of marijuana is illegal in Texas, and it also violates state law “to carry a gun while engaging in a criminal offense.”

Prosecutors also dropped the gun charges after the grand jury’s decision, according to a TMZ report.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets will likely be without several key players again when they host Detroit on Tuesday, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jeff Green is out with a right knee contusion, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are doubtful due to health and safety protocols, while Aaron Gordon (non-COVID illness) and Ish Smith (right calf strain) are listed as questionable.
Rookie Peyton Watson has appeared in just five Nuggets games and is currently playing for their G League affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Watson, a late-first round pick, is trying to be patient while developing his skills, Singer writes in a separate story. “They know I want it right now and that I’m super, super motivated to take it,” Watson said. “You’ve got to wait your turn. We’re the No. 2 team in the West.”
Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant learned during his first season with the Pistons what it was like being the top scorer for his team. He told current teammate Damian Lillard that he gained a greater appreciation for players with that status, Grant revealed on an interview with The Athletic’s Shams Charania (video link). “I told him I got a lot more respect for people who are the No. 1 option because it’s a lot more difficult than just putting up the numbers,” Grant said.

Wolves Notes: Russell, Gobert, Prince, Edwards

November 9th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The trade that brought D’Angelo Russell to the Timberwolves has turned into a huge mistake, contends Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. Minnesota was looking for more size and scoring in its backcourt when it sent Andrew Wiggins and a pair of draft picks — one of which became Jonathan Kuminga — to Golden State in exchange for Russell and two other players at the 2020 trade deadline. Wiggins wound up as a vital cog in the Warriors’ title team, while Russell continues to frustrate Wolves fans, Souhan states.

The latest embarrassing incident came in the first half of tonight’s loss to the Suns when Russell didn’t realize he was supposed to be on the court. Minnesota played a four-on-five possession that resulted in a Phoenix three-pointer. Souhan notes that Russell came into the game ranked 211th overall in Player Efficiency Rating and 42nd among point guards in a 30-team league.

After being benched in the playoff series against Memphis, Russell hasn’t looked any different this season, according to Souhan. He observes that the Wolves often look uncertain on the court, which shouldn’t happen to a team with a veteran point guard.

There’s more from Minnesota:

The Wolves are still working out a role on offense for Rudy Gobert, who returned tonight after missing two games while in the health and safety protocols, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Gobert’s new teammates, particularly Karl-Anthony Towns, have been trying to make sure he gets enough touches. “The guys have been great looking for me, especially KAT,” Gobert said. “I can tell he’s been doing a lot of effort hitting me on the duck-ins, hitting me on the lobs. I think that’s the way we’re going to play if we want to be a great offensive team, be able to space for each other, move the ball, have the ball not stick.”
Veteran forward Taurean Prince has become a locker room leader for the Wolves and he credits the influence of former teammate Patrick Beverley, particularly in film sessions, Hine adds. “He really taught me how to break down film and really process it quicker,” Prince said. “That’s helped me be in more of the right spots defensively. So I appreciate him for that. Now I’m also able to … put it in a way to where other guys understand it as well, and they’re maybe thinking two or three steps ahead.”
After Monday’s loss to the Knicks, Anthony Edwards expressed concerns that the Wolves are getting a reputation for being soft, Hine states in a separate story. “It’s hard, man,” Edwards said. “I don’t know, man. We’re going to try to figure it out, because that’s what it looks like right now. That’s what teams are saying, from the looks of it. They’re coming out like, ‘We’re going to punk them.’ That’s what’s going on.”

Timberwolves Notes: Outside Shooting, Nowell, Prince

November 6th, 2022 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

Having traded away solid three-point shooters like Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley in the blockbuster Rudy Gobert deal, the Timberwolves have seen their outside shooting take a step back in the early part of this season, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

In 2021/22, Minnesota ranked first in the NBA in three-point attempts per game and 12th in three-point percentage. So far in ’22/23, those marks have slipped to 12th and 24th, respectively, even after a solid showing vs. Houston on Saturday, when the team made 15-of-33 (45.5%) tries from beyond the arc.

While the personnel changes are one reason why the Wolves aren’t attempting or making as many three-pointers, several players on the roster are shooting below their previous rates, so some positive regression could be coming. Still, head coach Chris Finch said last week that he doesn’t necessarily expect this year’s team to shoot as much from outside as last year’s, stressing that good ball movement and quick decisions are more important for unlocking the offense.

“Too much thinking, I think, as a group, including myself,” D’Angelo Russell said of the offensive issues. “It’s part of the process. Everybody’s in positions that they’ve never been before.”

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Having lost tone-setters like Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt, the Timberwolves need to commit to playing with the edge and intensity that championship-caliber teams do on a night-to-night basis, according to Karl-Anthony Towns. “I think just more for us to have a mindset that I think when I watch those teams play, they play as if everything is Game 7 of the Finals,” Towns said, per Krawczynski. “They treat everything with that kind of level of execution and discipline and seriousness. I just think that’s something we gotta reach, and it’s not going to come overnight.”
Jaylen Nowell, who is extension-eligible and can be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, has a new agency, though he hasn’t technically changed representatives. As Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News relays (via Twitter), Nowell’s agent Ryan Davis has moved to LIFT Sports Management, which was founded by former NBA forward Mike Miller.
After signing a two-year extension with the Timberwolves over the summer, Taurean Prince is off to a hot start (.542/.459/.857 shooting) on the court, and his presence off the court has been just as impactful. Prince’s teammates refer to him as “the leader in the film room,” according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.“He’s just calling everybody out,” Nowell said. “Whoever it is, whether it’s the No. 1 guy or the No. 15 guy. He’s calling everybody out, and that’s where you get the respect from everybody.” Naz Reid also had praise for Prince: “He’s a great teammate, great vet. Nobody like him.”
In case you missed it, center Rudy Gobert entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Saturday.

Taurean Prince Arrested In Miami

August 26th, 2022 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

11:35am: Police in Arlington, Texas say they found guns and a vape pen with THC oil in Prince’s car when they stopped him in May for an expired registration, according to Eric Chaloux of KSTP-TV (Twitter thread).

Possession of marijuana is illegal in Texas, and it also violates state law “to carry a gun while engaging in a criminal offense,” the police said.

8:33am: Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince was arrested on Thursday in Miami, according to several reports, including from KSTP in Minnesota and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

KSTP’s report indicates that Prince was booked into jail custody on Thursday evening in Miami-Dade County. According to Hine, Prince was arrested at Miami International Airport on a fugitive out-of-state warrant from Texas. The six-year NBA veteran was born in San Marcos, Texas, was raised in San Antonio, and attended Baylor for college.

Details are still sparse on the possible charges that Prince is facing. Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 South Florida reported (via Twitter) that the Texas warrant was drug-related, but that has yet to be confirmed.

“We are aware of the alleged report regarding Taurean Prince and are in the process of gathering more information,” the Timberwolves said in a statement on Thursday.

Prince, 28, was a regular part of Minnesota’s rotation in 2021/22, averaging 7.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 69 games (17.1 MPG). He’s a solid, versatile defender, as well as a reliable floor spacer (.376 3PT% last season).

Prince had been on track for unrestricted free agency this summer, but the Timberwolves signed him to a two-year contract extension just before the new league year began. That deal includes a guaranteed base salary of $7.1MM for 2022/23, with $195K in likely incentives and another $870 in unlikely incentives for the coming season. The second year of the contract is non-guaranteed.

We’ll have to wait for additional information to get a real sense of how serious Prince’s legal situation is and whether it will affect his availability at all for the coming season.