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The revolving door of the fifth starter on the Lakers featured a new name in the second practice of the preseason on Wednesday. After Jarred Vanderbilt filled the role on Tuesday, Taurean Prince had his shot next.
Prince was signed this offseason and represents one of a number of wing options this team has this season.
Taurean Prince got a look with the Lakers’ starters in Day 2 of training camp Wednesday, joining a lineup with LeBron, AD, Reaves and D-Angelo Russell.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 4, 2023
Also noteworthy is that Austin Reaves joined the team in scrimmaging on Wednesday after not doing so on Tuesday. Reaves has been limited in training camp purely as a precaution after taking part in the FIBA World Cup with Team USA.
As for Prince, he’s a bit of a blend of a couple of options for the Lakers. Vando is seen as more of a defensive-minded wing while someone like Rui Hachimura, who started in the Western Conference Finals, is an offensive option.
Prince is the middle ground between the two, a perfectly serviceable option that has had multiple stops across the league. It’s not a coincidence that so many of his teams are successful as he has played a notable role at every stop.
Notably on Monday during media day as well, Prince made a wild promise that he would shoot 40% from 3-point range this season. For the record, he’s only done that once in his previous seven seasons.
He doesn’t need to shoot 40% from the arc to be a positive piece for this team. He might be an outsider in the race for the fifth starting spot, but he has a shot. At the very least, he’ll have a big role on this team this season as, for the first time in a very long time, the Lakers have a host of options on the wing.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
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