Is Aaron Nesmith On The Verge Of Becoming A Bust?
Things are not going well for the Boston Celtics. What can go wrong pretty much has minus things named Payton Pritchard? Gordon Hayward is playing god mode again, Kemba Walker’s knees are shot, and first round pick Aaron Nesmith has been a non-factor.
Forget about non-factor, is it time to just declare Aaron Nesmith a bust? Sure, it’s WAY too early to make that declaration now. However, something weird is going on. We need some answers here eventually.
Nesmith, the first round pick out of Vanderbilt, has now been a DNP in 14 straight games. It’s not like this Celtics team is overflowing with killers. Semi Ojeleye and Carsen Edwards are out here getting minutes all the time. The 14th overall pick in the draft doesn’t even bother getting dressed half the time.
I’m not sure how you can’t become concerned over it. Payton Pritchard has stepped right in and flourished as a rookie. Nesmith just sits on the bench. Sure, Pritchard played two extra years in college. There’s still something to be said for being ready for the NBA right away.
It sort of reminds me of when Romeo Langford was drafted. Half the time he didn’t bother getting dressed. Even during the times Langford played as a rookie, he looked like a lost puppy dog. Meanwhile, Tyler Herro who was picked one slot early made his presence felt right away.
We have only seen the former Vandy guard in ten games of action. Again, it’s a super small sample size. Averaging just 11.7 minutes in those games. During that limited action, Nesmith has been awful shooting just 32.4% from the field and 31% from 3.
Nesmith was drafted for his pure shooting ability. We knew that Nesmith wasn’t the most athletic player in the world or someone that could take you off the dribble and score. Maybe that should have been a bigger red flag. Maybe the fact that Nesmith’s shooting numbers skyrocketed as a sophomore in a short sample size.
Maybe it’s too early to panic. However, the impact of Payton Pritchard makes Nesmith’s disappearing act more worrisome. It’s time to start seeing Nesmith on the court more often, at minimum.
