After Naz Reid agreed to a new three-year deal at $14 million per season, the status of either forward Taurean Prince or restricted free-agent guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker became more tenuous for next season as the Wolves looked to stay under the luxury tax.
Timberwolves waive Taurean Prince to create more room below luxury tax
Prince will head to free agency after the Wolves declined to guarantee his contract, which would have been worth around $7.45 million, for next season.
June 29, 2023 at 2:51AM
On Wednesday, the Wolves made the decision to waive Prince, and he will now become a free agent. The Wolves declined to guarantee Prince's contract, which would have been worth around $7.45 million for next season.
Prince played for the Wolves the past two seasons after coming to the team from Cleveland in the trade that sent Ricky Rubio to the Cavaliers in August 2021.
A shoulder injury limited him to 54 games last season, but he was a reliable shooter and defender off the bench in averaging 8.1 points over his two seasons with the Wolves. He shot 38% from three-point range in that time and had a memorable performance in which he scored 35 points and went 8-for-8 from deep against the Knicks late last season to help the Wolves finish eighth in the Western Conference. His shooting will be something the Wolves will look to replace, but their luxury tax constraints proved too difficult to maneuver to keep him around.
Prince, 29, was also one of the team's vocal leaders, with teammates regularly citing him as one of the veteran voices not afraid to hold other players accountable. He has played in seven NBA seasons out of Baylor with stops that included Atlanta and Brooklyn in addition to Cleveland and Minnesota.
Freeing up Prince's salary gives the Wolves a few options. They now have more room to sign Alexander-Walker to a deal after he was one of their most important players (especially defensively) in the postseason after Jaden McDaniels punched a wall and broke his hand on the final day of the regular season.
Alexander-Walker, 24, is five years younger than Prince and the Wolves could look to lock him up for multiple years. He could also handle the ball on offense, and the Wolves are in need of backup ball handlers behind Mike Conley.
If the Wolves don't want to bring back Alexander-Walker, they could also use their room under the luxury tax to find a free agent, most likely a true backup point guard, using most or all of their non taxpayer mid-level exception. While exact numbers are unknown, they likely have around $13 million of room below the $165 million tax line after waiving Prince. Yahoo Sports recently reported the Wolves may have interest in Denver guard Bruce Brown and Golden State's Donte DiVincenzo.
The Wolves will also have decisions on whether to bring back or waive point guard Jordan McLaughlin and forward/center Nathan Knight.
The Timberwolves turned on their defense and turned a deficit into a comfortable winning margin over the course of about five crucial minutes.
