Taurean Prince said when he came to Minnesota last offseason he was "pretty open" to seeing what his time with the Timberwolves would bring.
Taurean Prince would like to return to Timberwolves
The forward is an unrestricted free agent after the season and said the team's camaraderie and coach Chris Finch are two reasons he'd like to come back.
Before Friday's Game 6, which could end up being the last for the unrestricted free agent, Prince said he has enjoyed his time with the team so much, he'd like to come back.
Prince conveyed that sentiment when he was asked how he separates thoughts about his upcoming free agency from the task winning in the playoffs and said it wasn't too hard.
"It is what it is when it comes to that type of time. I'm not worried about that," Prince said. "Honestly, me personally, I plan to return. So, it's nothing that I'm putting attention to with myself or people around me right now. I'm just focused on winning."
The Wolves met Memphis at Target Center, with the Grizzlies holding a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Prince said the team's camaraderie and coach Chris Finch are two factors that make him want to return.
"You got 10, pretty much 15 guys that are on the same page at all times whether on the court or off the court, hanging out and stuff. You don't get that. I really haven't felt that since college," Prince said. "That's a big step. And obviously, coach Finch, he's kind of the same as Bud [Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer], who I had my first three years. Similar type of style of play which benefits myself and everybody who plays for those type of coaches."
After a slow start to the season, Prince got accustomed to the Wolves' style of play. From January onward, Prince shot 40% from three-point range and averaged 8.7 points per game off the bench. Prince said he hopes the Wolves have interest in bringing him back.
"It's my sixth year in the NBA, I've had six different head coaches," he said. It's all about proving myself year in and year out. Whatever comes with it, comes with it."
Watching film
Karl-Anthony Towns appeared puzzled after shootaround Friday when asked about a Yahoo Sports report that said the Wolves had a players-only meeting on Wednesday. According to the report, the Wolves watched extra film together and stressed the importance of moving the ball on offense.
"We had a film session, just as a team," Towns said. "Ok. What happened there? See, this is why I don't look at Twitter."
Towns then said that the media liked to create news.
"I don't know what the hell happened," Towns said. "All right, yeah, we watched film, we had practice. I guess that's a players-only meeting. Yeah, we had practice."
Prince said what the Wolves did wasn't anything out of the ordinary from what they do all season. The Wolves have said throughout the season they are a close knit group that gets together to watch games or watch film together.
"This team loves to watch basketball together," Finch said. "They love to talk basketball together. They do a really good job of talking through issues of on the floor, things that they like, how they feel comfortable, spacing, positioning, that kind of stuff. Of all the teams I've been with this one's been the best at talking basketball and enjoying that. It remains the case right now."
Minnesota's star skipped postgame interviews for fear he’d curse and draw a fine. Coach Chris Finch had some dirty words of his own: “Hero shot after hero shot.”