Taurean Prince News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/taurean-prince/ Minnesota sports, but different Sat, 04 Feb 2023 14:46:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Taurean Prince News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/taurean-prince/ 32 32 Five Ejected After Bench Clearing Brawl Between Wolves and Magic https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-magic-fight-brawl/ Sat, 04 Feb 2023 03:32:24 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=41653 Benches cleared and five players were ejected from Friday night’s Minnesota Timberwolves vs Orlando Magic game at Target Center. Those who got tossed included Austin Rivers, Taurean Prince and Jaden McDaniels for the Wolves, Mo Bamba and Jalen Suggs for the Magic.

The sudden altercation surprised the Bally Sports broadcast and everyone watching. Austin Rivers and Mo Bamba started jawing near the Orlando bench. Whatever Rivers said was enough to make Bamba jump up (with his warmups on) and throw fists. Nobody took any real shots but it was still one of the best melees in Target Center history.

It all started when Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba made fun of Rivers after he badly missed a 3PT shot the possession before. After the game, Rivers would tell media that Fultz and Bamba were “saying wild things” for multiple possessions before the fight broke out.

Fight spills over after the game

Rivers tried to hold back, when asked about the altercation postgame, and what led to the kerfuffle. It didn’t take much probing from reporters for him to open up a vein, though. The 10-year NBA veteran chalked it all up to two men in the heat of the moment who lost their cools.

Rivers did, however, take issue with the way former Minnehaha Academy phenom, Jalen Suggs, blindsided him into a flying headlock while he was toe-to-toe with Bamba. Admittedly, that was a cheap shot and not something you should do when two grown men are squaring off.

When Bamba and Rivers physically separated, the scuffle took to social media. Mo Bamba posted the recently popular “fuck around and find out” meme. Austin Rivers replied with a post of his own reminding Bamba that he was willing to go 1v5 when first confronting the Magic bench.

Chris Finch backs Austin Rivers

Timberwolves head coach, Chris Finch, backed Austin Rivers fully, saying that it’s completely unacceptable for a player who is not in the game to jump off the bench and start throwing punches like Mo Bamba did.

We’ll see what the NBA thinks when suspensions and fines are being handed out this week. Here are both Austin Rivers and Chris Finch’s postgame press conferences, in their totality.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Sat, 04 Feb 2023 08:46:23 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves Free Taurean Prince https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/free-taurean-prince/ Fri, 26 Aug 2022 20:13:27 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=40166 In May, Minnesota Timberwolves forward, Taurean Prince, was pulled over by Arlington, TX police because his tabs were expired. Per reports, he did the right thing and told the officers that he had firearms in the vehicle. As is standard process in such a scenario, Prince was asked to get out of his vehicle while the officers retrieve the guns(s).

During the process of recovering said weapons, police found a THC vape pen. Marijuana (and other THC substances) are illegal to possess in Texas. The findings prompted a search of Prince’s vehicle, where officers found less than two ounces of marijuana, in the more classic form. Taurean Prince was then arrested for possession of an illegal substance AND for carrying a firearm while in possession of said illegal substance. The latter, a felony charge.

Not as bad as it looks

So, when the test kit came back from the lab, proving the weed was actually weed, a federal arrest warrant was issued, Prince was arrested at the Miami Airport, reports came out regarding “dangerous drug” charges and we ended up where we are now.

But here’s the thing. Marijuana is not a “dangerous drug” and reports of his arrest never should’ve been portrayed in that manner. According to Darren Wolfson (KSTP, SKOR North) the guns in Taurean Prince’s car WERE registered under his name.

So legally speaking; yes, Prince may have committed a federal crime. But from a common sense standpoint, Taurean is just another freedom-loving American who appreciates his second amendment right to carry a registered firearm; and who happens to smoke pot in his down time.

Note to self: Avoid Texas during hunting season

In other words, Taurean Prince is no different than millions of other responsible adults across the country who own firearms and happen to smoke pot. The writer of this blog included. And guess what, the tabs on this writer’s car are also expired.

Speaking of traffic violations in Texas… Had Taurean Prince been pulled over under the exact same circumstances in, say, Illinois, Michigan, Washington, California, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Rhode Island, New York or any of the other 19 states where pot is legal, this would be a big nothing-burger. Literally.

Not only would his “possession of an illegal substance” charge go away in any of those 19 states, but so would the “unauthorized possession of a firearm” charge. Everything about his gun possession was legal, until he introduced marijuana into the same vehicle. But if the pot was legal, then so were the guns.

Oh, except the expired tabs. For that, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ forward would probably get “a warning”, a handshake and maybe an autograph to sign for one of the officer’s kids back at home. And it would’ve made for a good story to laugh about with his buddies, the next time they sat around the circle.

Free Taurean Prince

Hopefully, Taurean Prince is out of jail, at this point, and he’s able to plead these bogus charges down to almost nothing, but a slap on the wrist. He doesn’t even deserve that. Which is why the NBA, and the MInnesota Timberwolves, should NOT issue any further discipline on this matter.

Prince should, and hopefully will, suit up on night one of the new season vs the Oklahoma City Thunder. If nothing else, Tim Connelly should be calling and trying to help Prince in any way the Wolves can.

On a completely unrelated note, would you be interested in this T-Shirt?

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Fri, 26 Aug 2022 15:29:57 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves Taurean Prince Arrested on “Dangerous Drug” Charges https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/taurean-prince-arrested-on-dangerous-drug-charges-minnesota-timberwolves/ Fri, 26 Aug 2022 01:57:44 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=40153 Minnesota Timberwolves forward, Taurean Prince, has been arrested in Miami, FL on a fugitive warrant out of Texas. The warrant was issued for “dangerous drug” related charges, according to a report from Andy Slater of Fox Sports. Prince signed a 2-year contract extension with the Wolves this offseason.

According to the Miami Herald, the charges against Prince are still unknown. As is whether or not he has hired an attorney. We will update this story as soon as there are updates to give.

UPDATE (8/26 – 11:45 AM)

More information is coming out, regarding Taurean Prince’s arrest from Thursday night. Moments ago, Eric Chaloux (KSTP – CH.5) reported that Prince’s arrest stemmed from a traffic stop back in May. He was pulled over by Arlington Police for expired tabs and the officers found guns and marijuana in Prince’s car.

Possession of marijuana is a crime, in Texas, and carrying a gun, while in possession of an illegal substance, is an additional offense. We do not yet know if the guns in Taurean Prince’s possession were legally registered, which is an awfully important part of this story.

If Prince’s guns WERE legally registered, and there doesn’t appear to be charges for non-registered firearms, then all accused crimes stem from his marijuana possession. Even the firearm charges. Remember, pot is legal in many states across the US and decriminalized in most others. We’ll update this blog as soon as more information becomes available.

Stay tuned.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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