8 Players the Atlanta Hawks gave up on too soon
By Will Eudy
5. Taurean Prince
One of the more overlooked role players in the NBA, Taurean Prince has steadily improved as a scorer and defender in his seven years as a pro to become one of the better three-and-D wings in the league.
Prince spent the first three seasons of his career in Atlanta, and he was a full-time starter in 2017-18, starting all 82 games for the Hawks. His 14.1 points per game that season were good for the second-highest average on a team that ended up in the lottery.
After the next season, Prince was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, despite once again finishing as a top-three scorer for Atlanta. Since then, he has continued to flourish as an above-average shooter and defender. Prince shot a career-best 41.5% from three during the 2020-21 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and had his most efficient shooting season overall with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2021-22.
Taurean Prince is now one of the most important players coming off the bench in Minnesota, and looks to have a long career ahead of him as a useful role player that carries big time value in playoff environments. He would be extremely effective on the Hawks’ roster right now, and management has to be kicking themselves knowing they let him slip away.