Atlanta Hawks: Is Taurean Prince Demarre Carroll 2.0?

In this year’s NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks used the 12th pick to select Taurean Prince, a small forward from Baylor. Prince was targeted by the Hawks for most of the draft process and when he was still available the Atlanta Hawks made sure to add his talents to their roster.

The Atlanta Hawks acquired the 12th pick by trading Jeff Teague to the Indiana Pacers, the 12th pick going to the Hawks from the Utah Jazz, while the Jazz received George Hill from the Pacers. With that trade the Atlanta Hawks were able to pick up Prince and solidify their wing position on the floor.

Just looking at Taurean Prince, he gives off that Demarre Carroll vibe. He has the dreadlocks, comes from a BIG 12 school(when Demarre was at Missouri, they were still in the Big 12 conference), and is an excellent defender. The similarities are there, but can Prince live up to the comparison. 

Lockdown Defender

Prince has great size at 6’8 for the small forward position. He has impressive length and has the quickness to stay with the opposing small forward and create turnovers that lead to easy baskets. Prince is still athletic and thrives by driving the lane and being aggressive on the offensive side of the ball.

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When comparing Carroll to Prince, they both have similar size and are active on both sides of the floor. Prince will need to learn how to improve his outside game in order to crack the two-deep on Atlanta’s roster. If he is able to do that, Prince will be a great addition to the Atlanta Hawks lineup.

Outside Shooting

When Prince was at Baylor, his primary job was to guard the opposing teams best wing player. For his career, Prince only averaged a little over 10 points, and a little over four rebounds a game. In his last year at Baylor, he was coming off the bench at times.

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Prince will need to work on staying aggressive on the offensive side of the ball and will need to develop his mid-range shot. If he can do this and provide the Hawks a wing defender that will stop allowing teams to shoot a high percentage from the three-point line(see the Cleveland Cavaliers series), he can be a great addition to the roster.

Prediction

In Mike Budenholzer’s offense, it is predicated on having shooters on the floor that can make open shots. If Prince wants to make an immediate impact he will need to improve his outside shot and continue to not let up on the defensive end.

Next: Atlanta Braves sign #1 ranked prospect Kevin Maitan

Along with DeAndre Bembry, Prince will be asked to guard the perimeter and knock down some shots coming off the bench this year. This will help get them acclimated to the speed of the NBA. When it comes to the comparison of Demarre Carroll, the Atlanta Hawks can only hope Prince is the next, “Junkyard Dog.”