1. Taurean Prince
Taurean Prince is not a point guard and so, he would have taken valuable minutes off a player who has contributed for the Suns so far, such as Gordon or Grayson Allen. But what he is doing for the Los Angeles Lakers – starting all 12 games he has appeared in and contributing on both ends of the court – would have been a nice boost for the Suns.
Even more so when you consider it hasn’t really happened so far for Yuta Watanabe, who is currently injured but has failed to nail down the sort of consistent role with the group that many envisioned. Not that Prince should have taken Watanabe’s spot on the roster, but he would have represented a more consistent alternative up to this point.
His 3-point shot is nowhere near as good as Watanabe’s, but he still hits the open looks he gets just enough to warrant his continued run in the starting five with the Lakers. Defensively he brings it to a level each night that few on his current team can match, and never is this more apparent than when you watch what Prince does on that end compared to the likes of D’Angelo Russell.
The $4.5 million he is making this season would have been harder for the Suns to work into their cap sheet, but by no means impossible. Hitting on the roster spots around the fringes each summer is critical in building a championship-winning team, and Prince would have been an ideal option for the team to have throughout the season.