NBA Draft 2020: Best/worst fits for this year’s consensus lottery picks
By Trevor Marks
Aaron Nesmith, W, Vanderbilt
Best: New Orleans Pelicans (13), Phoenix Suns (10)
If you’re a team in the teens looking for a shooting specialist to run off screens and floppy actions and off pinwheel routes, then Aaron Nesmith is a sensible option after shooting a blistering 52.2 percent from distance in an injury-shortened sophomore year.
The key to maximizing an early pick on Nesmith is to award him high usage as an off-ball shooter who’s constantly moving and attracting the attention of help defenders, as to free up the floor for the rest of his teammates.
The Pelicans and Suns are two teams who display an understanding of how to use shooters and cutters off-ball, making them the best fits for Nesmith if he goes in the lottery. Both teams will likely have superior options on the board when they’re on the clock, but Nesmith makes sense in that range.
In the plausible event that he slides out of the lottery and ends up on one of the playoff contenders situated in the late-teens, early-20s range, he’d be a wonderful addition to the Dallas Mavericks at 18 or Miami Heat at 20, two teams who prioritize spot-up scoring (Tim Hardaway Jr., Seth Curry) and off-movement shooting (Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro).
Worst: Boston Celtics (14)
Celtics fans have been vocal about the desire to add perimeter shooting to a rather shallow bench unit, but they’d be better off using the No. 14 pick on a different prospect than Nesmith, who doesn’t match what executive Danny Ainge and coach Brad Stevens look for on the wing.
Boston’s egalitarian pick-and-roll system is one that requires both guards and wings alike to be able to handle the ball in some capacity, and Nesmith is limited in that regard, and shouldn’t be tasked with scoring inside the arc anyway.
The defensive fit is tricky as well; Nesmith is bright as a team defender, but he lacks the recovery speed and vertical explosion to make much of a difference as a defender, which may displease Boston’s brass. This would simply be a poor marriage for both sides.