Bucks News: Taurean Prince Reveals How NBA Cup Can Change Players' Lives

Taurean Prince, who has remained the Milwaukee Bucks' current starting small forward despite the return of former three-time All-Star swingman Khris Middleton to the lineup four games ago, recently took to SiriusXM NBA radio to preview the club's impending 2024 Emirates NBA Cup matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, scheduled to tip off on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. PT on ABC.

On the show, the 6-foot-7 wing reflected on the massive opportunity his team has in Tuesday's championship game. Beyond the glory promised by the prospect of winning the second installment of the NBA's annual mid-season tournament in a do-or-die clash, Prince spoke about the lucrative bonus that will be awarded to all of the team's 15 standard roster signings.

The winning team's players will each earn $500,000 bonuses, while its two-way players will net $250,000 bonuses if they were active for all of the team's NBA Cup games. That rate would be reduced if the player is inactive for some of those matchups. The Bucks currently have all three of their two-way contracts filled, by injured point guard Ryan Rollins (inactive for all of the Bucks' NBA Cup games), shooting guard Stanley Umude and rookie center Liam Robbins.

“Everybody knows what’s at stake and what can be done with this type of money for certain people”

Bucks Forward, Taurean Prince, talks about their chance to win $500K per player to tonight.

NBA Cup - Bucks vs. Thunder at 8:30p ET on Channel 86 or the App https://t.co/iiUuqRLHYL pic.twitter.com/lnuFSgppkN
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 17, 2024

"You go down the line of the bench and obviously contracts start to get lower and you definitely want to play for the guys next to you," Prince allowed. "And this is real money that could buy these guys' families their first house or their mom their first house or their car that they wanted. So it's big. It's bigger than just us."

Granted, making an extra $500,000 isn't going to make much of a dent in the wallets of eight-time All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo or eight-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, both of whom are making $48,787,676 maximum salaries this season. But the Bucks have a trio of recent second round draft picks still on rookie-scale deals in starting shooting guard Andre Jackson Jr. and small forwards Chris Livingston and Tyler Smith. Jackson and Livingston are netting $1,891,857 this season, while Smith is making $1,157,153.

Prince, 30, is himself on a team-friendly veteran's minimum deal. The $500K would represent practically a quarter of his $2,087,519 contract. Over the course of a long career, however, the Baylor product has earned $51.2 million already, and given his two-way ability seems likely to make more than the minimum again sooner rather than later.

"It's a lot of opportunity that we can take advantage of, not only for ourselves individually but for our teammates," Prince said. "So we all [have] got that in mind. Everybody knows what’s at stake and what can be done with this type of money for certain people, so we're just trying to take advantage of the moment.”

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