The Milwaukee Bucks have officially signed veteran forward Taurean Prince
The Milwaukee Bucks officially signed veteran forward Taurean Prince after agreeing to a one-year veteran minimum contract on July 3. Contracts could not officially be signed until 11:01 a.m. CT on July 6.
The minimum for Prince, who has eight years of service before this season, is $2,988,550.
The NBA reimburses teams who sign veterans with three or more years of service to prevent clubs from ignoring older players – so only $2,087,519 for each player counts against Milwaukee’s books.
The Bucks entered the 2024 free agency period as a team with limited roster-building flexibility as a second-apron team, which means they could only offer minimum contracts to free agents. The Bucks signed draft picks AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith, leaving three potential roster spots open for veterans.
Milwaukee also added veteran guard Delon Wright, along with Prince, giving a roster that hopes to contend for the 2024-25 NBA championship some additional versatility on defense.
More: Milwaukee Bucks officially sign guard Delon Wright
Prince, 30, is 6 feet, 6 inches and 218 pounds and should provide some defensive help on the wings, while also bringing a steady three-point shot (39.6% last season with the Los Angeles Lakers) to the offense.
Prince is a former first-round pick, being selected No. 12 in 2016 by Utah. The Bucks currently have one roster spot open, but they do not have to fill it. The team begun 2020 and 2021 with only 14 guaranteed contracts. Leaving a spot open allows the team flexibility for a later signing or acquiring multiple players for one in a trade.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Milwaukee Bucks have officially signed forward Taurean Prince
