Los Angeles Lakers have quietly won NBA Free Agency with 7 key moves

Taurean Prince (1-year, $4.5 million)

The Los Angeles Lakers used their Bi-Annual Exception to sign Taurean Prince away from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even though Prince has bounced around the league quite a bit through the first seven years of his career, you can make the sound argument that he’s been productive at nearly every stop. Most recently, he averaged nine points on 38 percent shooting from 3-point range this past season with the Wolves.

In short, Prince is the 3-and-D weapon that the Lakers were drastically missing during last year’s playoff run. I’m not going to say that if Prince was on the Lakers that their series with the Nuggets changes that much (I’m not sure if any team was beating the Lakers last year), but there’s no question a versatile defensive wing would’ve helped matters some.

Playing next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis should help Prince on the offensive end of the floor while Prince’s defensive tools will help take some of the pressure off the team’s defensive-challenged contributors. All in all, this seems like a great move for both the Lakers and Prince.

If it all pans out, perhaps Prince can go out and sign a long-term contract with the Lakers or another team next summer.