Key Lakers player petitions for a return to Los Angeles in 2024-25.
The Los Angeles Lakers have ten players that are currently eligible for free agency. Several player alternatives could reduce that sum, but the idea that the Lakers will look completely different in 2024-25 is based on fact.
As general manager Rob Pelinka considers his choices for assembling a new-look squad, one crucial Lakers player from 2023-24 is letting Los Angeles know he wants to return.
Darvin Ham, the previous head coach, tinkered with his lineups during the 2023-24 regular season, starting seven different players in at least 26 games. Taurean Prince, one of the players who demonstrated the importance of a rotational fit, thrived as the team’s sixth man.
In an interview with Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, Prince stated that he wants to build on his success by re-signing with Los Angeles for the 2024-25 season.
The quality of life in Los Angeles is something my family and I haven’t experienced in maybe three or four seasons. So staying here would surely be number one…”I definitely want to be a Laker.”
The Lakers’ resources are restricted in terms of how they can bring Prince back, but his return would be beneficial to a club that could see substantial turnover this offseason.
Prince’s debut season with the Lakers was a tale of two roles. He performed reasonably well as a starter, averaging 9.6 points in 30.5 minutes while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and a more than respectable 38.4 percent from three.
When Prince moved to the second unit, he developed into a real sharpshooter, converting 46.9 percent of his field goals and 42.9 percent of his three-pointers.
Prince’s plus-minus increased from -5.3 as a starter to +3.7 as a reserve.
Prince averaged 21.1 minutes per game off the bench and contributed significantly during that time. In addition to shooting brilliantly, he averaged 13.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.5 three-point field goals per 36 minutes.
As the Lakers strive to build a balanced squad around Anthony Davis and LeBron James, bringing Prince back might go a long way toward that goal.
Prince struggled from beyond the arc during the playoffs, but he hit 58.3 percent on two-pointers and was sixth on the team in minutes per game. The Lakers may search for a more traditional sixth man this offseason, but Prince has demonstrated that his per-minute worth contributes positively.
Prince, a 6’6″ and 218-pound forward with a 7’0″ wingspan and an excellent 3-point shooting, is a player whose desire to return to the Lakers appears to be mutual.
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