Pistons' Van Gundy refuses to buy out Prince: 'That's not part of the deal'

Things could get ugly in Tayshaun Prince's second tour of duty in the Motor City.

The Detroit Pistons acquired Prince at the trade deadline in an effort to bolster a potential playoff push. However, playing on a non-contender like the Pistons doesn't interest the 34-year-old Prince.

But that's none of Stan Van Gundy's business. The Pistons head coach and president made that abundantly clear to Brendan Savage of MLive:

The reason Boston made the trade is to save money. We're paying Tayshaun more money. If he was going to get bought out, he should have done it in Boston. They should let him be bought out. That's not on me to buy him out. That's not part of the deal.

We weren't told of this until after we made the trade by Tayshaun's agent. Why would we trade guys who are making less money to take on more money to waive him? That would have been the dumbest personnel move ever.

It's not on us.

Prince has twice been traded to fringe playoff teams after starting out with the Memphis Grizzlies. Prince played well enough with the Boston Celtics to be dealt to Detroit, but the 13-year veteran's career is nearing its end and this could be his last shot to win a second title.

In 35 games split between Memphis and Boston, Prince is averaging 7.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game on 48.8 percent shooting from deep.