Tayshaun Prince

Prince is entering his 13th season. Last season, he averaged 6.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 26 minutes per game during 76 games. He shot 41 percent from the field on 6.5 attempts per game, 29 percent from three on 0.9 attempts per game, and 57 percent from the free-throw line on 0.8 attempts per game. In seven playoff games versus the Thunder, he averaged 3.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 0.1 steals in 16 minutes per game. He shot 39 percent from the field on 3.7 attempts per game, 25 percent from beyond the arc on 0.6 attempts per game, and did not record a single free-throw attempt in the series. Prince turns 35 years old in February, and his abilities appear to be steadily declining. His 26 minutes per game in 2013-14 were six fewer minutes per game than he'd played in any other season since his rookie year. Given Tony Allen's prowess as a wing defender, the additions of Vince Carter and rookie Jordan Adams, and the expected return of reserve swingman Quincy Pondexter, there's potential for Prince's minutes to continue to plummet in 2014-15. He's still penciled in as the starter, and while it's possible his expiring contract could be used as a trade chip, it seems more likely he's going to remain with the team. At this point in his career, Prince is unlikely to warrant much consideration in anything but the deepest leagues.

Prince split time between Detroit and Memphis last season, and he was lower profile with the Grizzlies, getting fewer shots and scoring fewer points. Eleven years into his career, Prince has lost some athleticism and is in a decline phase, but still has the length to defend. He'll open the season as the starting small forward, but his shooting range isn't what it once was. And range is important when the perimeter also includes Tony Allen. Consistent jump shooting creates space for Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol inside. As such, we'll probably see Mike Miller and Quincy Pondexter eating into Prince's playing time.

Once again, Prince provided the Pistons with a steady veteran presence last season, finishing with averages of 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 63 games. He’ll enter the 2012-13 campaign in a similar role and should still be locked in as the team’s starting small forward, but we could finally start to see Prince’s value start to dip. He’s entering his 11th season and isn’t as stout defensively as he was in his prime. Prince’s decent all-around game will still play in deeper formats, but he’s not the quality depth option we saw during the prime of his career.

Once thought a sure thing to leave the Pistons via free agency, Prince surprised Detroit’s fan base by re-upping for another four years with the only NBA team he’s ever known. Despite all the turmoil surrounding him last year, Prince managed to put up another season of model consistency, averaging 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor and 70.2 percent from the charity stripe. While the Pistons are trending younger, Prince will remain a fixture in the lineup and continue to play about 30 mpg.

After six consecutive seasons without missing a game, Prince missed 33 of them last year while dealing with knee and back injuries. That's the bad news. Now here's the good: in 30 games after the All-Star break, Prince managed to put up some of the best numbers of his career, averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 51.3% from the floor. The arrival of Tracy McGrady this offseason might cloud his playing time, but his defensive ability and sure ball-handling will always get him something north of 30 minutes.

Perhaps Charles Barkley should have saved the “Groundhog Day” nickname for Prince, because Prince has become one of the most consistent producers in the NBA. He has averaged 13–15 points, 4–6 rebounds, 2–4 assists, and 0.6–1.0 treys per while playing all 82 games in each of the last five seasons. On the court Prince uses his extra-long physique to make himself an excellent defender, with enough length to play off of quicker guards and enough wiry strength to blanket stronger wings. Surprisingly, this length and defensive bent hasn’t resulted in many steals or blocks (1.1 combined steals/blocks per game), but Prince did average a career-high 5.8 rebounds last season. On offense, Prince’s good decision-making and nice midrange jumper make him a glue-guy that can score when open or set up the open teammate when covered. Prince’s offensive game is the definition of “take what the defense gives you,” and his versatility makes him a fantasy “Garbage Man”, a jack-of-all trades that contributes something in almost every category and tends to be more valuable to roto teams than any individual stat would suggest. Expect more of the same this season.

It seems impossible to consider Prince outside the context of the Detroit Pistons. On another team, he might be used differently. In Detroit, Prince is absolutely content to use his albatross wingspan to harass opposing forwards and ball-hawk in the passing lanes, to can the occasional open jumper, and to generate a fair number of floor-burns diving for loose balls. Another “garbage man” who can help you in a lot of categories without dominating in any, he’ll be a valued role player on a lot of fantasy teams this year.

The Pistons may have lost a step on defense since winning the championship, but don’t blame Tayshaun Prince. Prince’s wafer-thin physique redefines the idea of “length” as a physical attribute, with arms that wouldn’t look out of place on Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. That length, along with his court smarts and athleticism, makes Prince one of the NBA’s elite defenders, and makes his mid-range jumper nearly impossible to defend. Prince won’t ever be one of Detroit’s first options on offense, but he’ll score just enough to keep defenses honest and contribute all over the stat sheet – though not enough to put your team over the top in any one category.

After a promising 2005 season, Prince took a step back in 2006, seeing his averages in points, rebounds, assists and field goal percentage decrease. He did average 14.1 points and 4.2 rebounds last year, but only shot 45.6% from field after averaging 14.7 points on 48.7% shooting in 2006. Prince is a solid one-on-one defender, but he averaged only 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks last year, making him a two-dimensional fantasy player (points and boards). Prince does see a lot of minutes (average of 35.3 last year), but with the Pistons core offensive players intact, his role won’t change much for 2007.

Prince has become a poor man's Andrei Kirilenko: AK, minus the steals and blocks. They're both whisper thin and dedicated team players. Prince is among the best perimeter defenders in the game with his height and dramatically long arms, yet AK piles on the steals and blocks, while Prince doesn't quite come through. You can't expect more blocks if he's so often away from the paint (and Ben Wallace is swatting so many) but quick hands and focus like Prince's should reward owners with far more thefts. He won't help you a ton anywhere, but Prince doesn't dip below replacement level anywhere except steals and threes, and with those he does get close.

Prince, who is slated to be the Pistons’ starting small forward this season, has often teased fantasy owners with his all-around potential, but he has yet to blossom into the player we’re all waiting for. Prince uses his long wingspan to notch plenty of steals, and he's also capable of pulling down a few boards or stepping out and hitting the three. But if you’re looking for a big step forward for Prince this season, you might be expecting too much. The Pistons are too deep and too team-oriented for Prince to start shouldering on a substantially bigger role on the team. Expect much of the same from Prince this season, always a fantasy tease but never consistent enough to count on.

After being buried on the bench most of the year, Prince came up big during the postseason as Detroit reached the conference finals. Keep an eye on him in training camp, as he should win a battle with Corliss Williamson to be Detroit's starting small forward. If Prince does win a starting job, 12 points and six rebounds a game are possible for the second-year player from Kentucky.