A Country for Old Men

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The Minnesota Timberwolves are absolutely loaded with high-upside talent and players who could emerge as critical pieces, but the team featured little in the way of veteran leadership and presence. Over the offseason, Flip Saunders and company have complimented their fountain of youth with a trio of elders, most recently signing Tayshaun Prince.

August moves at a snail’s pace in the NBA and that should be to the liking of the Wolves latest signings. For all the talk of the future – Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthon Towns and company – Minnesota has made a series of shrewd moves to bring back the greatest symbol of their past, a high IQ mentor-guard, and a skilled former champion; each in the twilight of their basketball playing careers.

Tayshaun Prince, a member of the 2004 NBA champion Detroit Pistons squad, is the most recent acquisition by Saunders. The savvy veteran played a total of 58 games during the 2014-15 season between three teams, averaging 7.5 points per game.

Prince had limited playing time in 2014 and averaged under 10 points per game for just the third time in his 13 years in the league. Still, what he can bring the Wolves is a sure shot, 44-percent on field goals and 46.3-percent from three-point range. Minnesota has tried to find a long-range solution many times, but it seems to never quite work out. Prince likely fills the shoes of what they hoped to get from Chase Budinger, a player capable from deep that suffered from injuries and inconsistency during his time with the Timberwolves.

The reality of the situation, however, is that it seems unlikely that the Wolves expect Prince, Andre Miller, or Kevin Garnett to really impact many games for them this season. The real reason that these players were brought in probably has a lot more to do with building a culture and a mentorship for all the young talent that Minnesota has stockpiled over the last two years.

The pieces fit together like a puzzle, young guards, forwards and big men combining with their counterparts. Andre Miller and Ricky Rubio should combine to create delicious backcourt of savvy, skill and all-around good vibes for the young players. Miller, particularly, should help increase the basketball knowledge at the pro level for Wiggins and LaVine.

The Wolves took Towns with the number one overall pick in the 2015 draft, pairing him with the future Hall of Famer Garnett is like a crash course in greatness and utterly profane trash talking at the exact same time.

The last piece was Prince. The longtime Piston and world champion fits in nicely between the extremes of Miller and Garnett both in position and personality. With Wiggins and LaVine both set for season two of what could be long and successful careers, both players look to benefit greatly from some help with their shooting. If those two players start hitting more consistently, particularly from three-point range, the Wolves trajectory rockets upward.

Prince is a great player who has played in the NBA longer than most and he will eventually walk away from the game as a one-time champion. Until then, the best case scenario would be for the Wolves to keep Prince around 20 minutes per game, bringing a scoring threat from distance, while helping develop the next generation in Minnesota.

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