After a sneakily busy offseason swapping out plenty of role players, the Pistons wound up with an extremely underrated pickup in Taurean Prince. Prince isn't projected to be a huge difference maker for Detroit, but his combination of veteran experience and deadeye shooting could make a big impact.
For the last two seasons, the Pistons saw how much Tobias Harris changed the team culture with his leadership and reliable play; Prince can continue that trend to a lesser degree. Harris has now departed for San Antonio, leaving the Pistons with holes to fill for his on-court play and locker room presence. Prince should be able to help in at least one department with his 10 years of experience across 6 different teams.
The Pistons could learn a lot from Prince
Over the course of his career, Prince has been in many different team-building situations. He's seen the uphill climb of an up-and-coming roster with the Hawks alongside a rookie Trae Young and the Timberwolves next to a sophomore Anthony Edwards. He's also seen teams with championship ambitions like the Kevin Durant era in Brooklyn or the Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Between all those experiences, Prince can offer a wealth of knowledge on how teams can either get over the hump or fall apart as they approach their primes. Over his different pit stops, Prince has seen the importance of both identity and adaptability. In the Pistons' case, this could mean balancing their consistently strong defense with the need for more offensive firepower in the team's next evolution.
Prince has seen teams succeed by leaning into a strong identity - see the Wolves after trading for Rudy Gobert - and teams fall by straying from their identity. Most recently, he was with the Bucks who lost their way after failing to replace the impact of multiple departing veterans and losing their defensive presence.
Prince can still play on the court too
Even during his two seasons in Milwaukee, Prince was still efficient in his role as a shooter. He shot 43% from three-point range in each of the last two seasons. The Pistons could always use more shooting, especially off the bench, so Prince fits that bill nicely.
Prince is listed at just 6'6" but has slotted best as a power forward throughout his career. That's still a position of need for the Pistons depth chart. Behind John Collins, there isn't another proven power forward on the roster but the Pistons do have other players like Prince - wings who can scale up to play power forward.
Alongside Ron Holland II and Javonte Green, Prince can fill out the bench rotation of forwards. He might not be as strong of a defender as the other two, but Prince's shooting can add another element. His inclusion should give the Pistons more options with their bench units.
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