Prince to a New Court? Dallas Mavericks and Five Teams That Make Sense

In today's Detroit Free Press, agent Bill Duffy is quoted as saying that the Detroit Pistons had reached out to him about potentially re-signing his client, forward Tayshaun Prince.

There is little doubt that this is true. Detroit is trying to rebuild, but they are incredibly thin at small forward. Young player Austin Daye has regressed in some ways, and second-round draft pick Kyle Singler is far from a surefire hit for the team.

Prince does, however, have a lot of value on the open market, and would likely explore his options. While he most likely would keep the door open to returning to Detroit, it is not hard to imagine a scenario in which Prince would leave.

Prince is the consummate team player, but he has been visibly frustrated by the Pistons' demise. From his perspective, he has never known a time when the Pistons were not a contender. In fact, some of his greatest moments have come in the playoffs, and he was a huge part of their title-winning team in 2004.

However, Prince never became the star that fans hoped for, although he was always a good player capable of moments of brilliance offensively and lock-down defense on the other end of the court. There has been growing sentiment amongst fans that it is time to turn the page.

So where exactly would Prince land? It is a fairly weak free-agent class, and so Prince could be a hot commodity.

Here are some teams that would be smart to have Duffy's number on speed dial.

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks reportedly had a deal in place last year that would have sent the expiring contract of Caron Butler and a first-round pick to Detroit for Prince. Inexplicably, Dumars opted to keep his unhappy forward.

Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs still managed to win the title, but it is not hard to imagine where Prince would help out.

Shawn Marion played well last year, but he is getting very long in the tooth, and it is unreasonable to expect the same type of season from him. Peja Stojakovic has next to nothing left in the tank, and new addition Rudy Fernandez is far from a huge upgrade.

The Mavs need an athletic, long defender on the perimeter, someone that can match up with Kobe Bryant one night and LeBron James the next. They also need another consistent scorer on offense, and Prince could help in a multitude of ways.

The big question here, however, is whether or not they have the cash to re-sign Tyson Chandler and Jose Barea as well as Prince.

Denver Nuggets

How things have changed for Denver. A year ago, the face of their franchise was Carmelo Anthony, and they had a calming influence in the backcourt in Chauncey Billups.

However, even though they lost those two, they didn't stop winning; in fact, they played much better after the midseason trade.

They do, however, still have some holes. Danilo Gallinari is a talented offensive player, but he gets eaten alive on defense. Sure, they drafted Kenneth Faried, but he projects as more of a power forward.

Prince, paired with former teammate Arron Afflalo, would give Denver one of the better perimeter defenses in their division. Offensively, Prince could stretch the floor for the bigs, or play in the post to assist the backcourt.

This would be a very good fit for both sides.

Los Angeles Clippers

Blake Griffin gave Los Angeles Clippers fans a reason to get excited last year. Sadly, it didn't translate into a winning season.

Could the Clips be turning over a new leaf and committing themselves to a winning future? Maybe.

At the very least, they will be interesting. However, they have a huge hole at the small forward position. Last year's first-rounder, Al-Farouq Aminu, showed last year that he is far from ready for the big time. Interestingly, one of the players that he was compared with was Prince.

Prince is just the type of veteran player that could help Los Angeles take a step forward. And while their losing ways would be tough for Prince to stomach, he is from Compton and could be interested in heading home.

The best way to get this done for both sides would be a sign-and-trade involving Chris Kaman. The Clips need to re-sign center DeAndre Jordan, and could use the cash they save by dealing Kaman.

However, this is a big "if," as Clips owner Donald Sterling is famously cheap.

Houston Rockets

The Yao dynasty seems to have come to a close in Houston. Not to worry, Rockets fans, you still have a very talented roster.

That talent, however, does not extend to the small forward position. The Rockets addressed this in the draft by selecting Marcus Morris. However, he projects as more of a tweener, and might not be a good pro.

What Houston needs is a long perimeter defender to help take some pressure off of Kevin Martin and a good shooter that plays with a high basketball intelligence to help free up Luis Scola.

Houston likely will have some money to play around with, given the likely retirement of Yao Ming. As of now, they are committed to only $47 million next season, and could add a contract like Prince's with ease, depending, of course, on the new collective bargaining agreement.

Milwaukee Bucks

If you are a Bucks fan, you have got to love what your team did on draft night. They rid themselves of two awful contracts in the under-performing Corey Maggette and John Salmons while adding an excellent scorer in Stephen Jackson and a nice pick in Tobias Harris.

However, this leaves the team with a hole at small forward, unless you are confident that Carlos Delfino will overachieve again.

The Bucks have an opportunity to win now with their current roster. They have one of the best big men in the league in Andrew Bogut, and an electrifying guard in Brandon Jennings.

Adding Prince would shore up their perimeter defense and add another perimeter scorer as an option for Jennings. Prince also can play a point forward position, allowing Jennings to come off the ball.

The only question is whether or not the Bucks will be wary about adding another veteran free agent after the last two didn't pan out.