Getty Kevin Durant #7 and Taurean Prince #2 of the Brooklyn Nets
Taurean Prince was a member of the Brooklyn Nets for a season and a half from 2019-2021. The forward was also linked as a potential free agent target for the Nets this offseason before he agreed to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Prince agreed to a two-year $16 million contract with Minnesota. If Prince didn’t elect to return to Minnesota, there is a chance he would have chosen Brooklyn as he recently had high praise for the Nets.
Prince Praises Brooklyn
Shortly following the Kevin Durant trade request, it was announced that the Nets completed a deal to acquire the three-and-D forward from the Utah Jazz, Royce O’Neale. O’Neale shot over 38% from deep with the Jazz and averaged 7.4 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game as a starter in Utah. He is expected to bring a defensive presence to the Nets frontcourt.
O’Neal was teammates with former Net Taurean Prince in college as a member of the Baylor Bears, and Prince called O’Neale shortly after the trade to speak about his experience with the organization. Alex Schiffer of The Athletic had the report of the exchange.
“Royce O’Neale said he got a call from Taurean Prince, his fellow Baylor Bear, shortly after getting traded to the Nets. “You’re going to love it there,” Prince told him. Prince, who was dealt by BK in the James Harden trade, vouched for Sean Marks and the rest of the org,” Schiffer tweeted.
Prince vouching for the franchise and front office is nice to hear after the recent drama swirling around Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving reportedly wanting out of Brooklyn and not having trust in the front office.
O’Neale teams up with other recent additions in Brooklyn with the signing of scoring forward TJ Warren, re-signings of Patty Mills, Kessler Edwards, and Nic Claxton. He has already shown support for the organization with an appearance with his Nets teammates at a Vegas Summer League game on July 8.
Nothin’ like support from the squad 🤝
Nets Next Season
Despite reports around the Durant trade there still remains a major possibility that the team elects to keep Durant, who still has four years remaining on his contract. Adrian Wojnarowski commented on the potential of Durant returning to Brooklyn.
“Absolutely, especially if this drags out and if there’s not a deal found here in the next month and it goes into August, and you get closer to training camp,” Wojnarowski said. “Brooklyn, they don’t have to take a deal that they don’t want to do. … But then, at the same time, Kevin Durant, as he looks at the situation, could he look at it differently over time? That’s certainly a possibility.”
If Durant does return to the Nets and they solve the Kyrie Irving saga, whether with a trade or helping him settle into a role in Brooklyn their recent additions have answered some of the concerns of last season. They have a defensive wing with O’Neale, and another player that can create a shot offensively in Warren. It could be an interesting roster to see for the Nets if everything changes drastically from where they currently stand.
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Former Nets Player Sends Strong Message on the Franchise & Front Office