1. Aaron Nesmith
Aaron Nesmith is definitely my favorite player in this draft for the 76ers. He’s a sophomore sharpshooter from Vanderbilt who shot 52.2 percent from deep on 8.2 attempts a game last season.
His movement off-ball using cuts and screens to get open for outside shots in addition to his spot-up shooting ability make him the type of offensive piece the Sixers need. In addition to this, he can shoot it off the dribble, make good passing reads and attack closeouts using the mid-range jumper.
Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid both had great success with J.J. Redick, a player who shared a similar skill set to Nesmith. Where Nesmith differs most to Redick is his defensive ability. Nesmith has decent size for a wing player standing at 6-foot-6, sporting a wingspan of 6-foot-10 and weighing in at 213 lbs. His size and basketball I.Q. allow him to be versatile and solid on the defensive end despite his lack of athleticism.
The issue with Nesmith is that all of this is based only on 14 games. A foot injury put him out for the rest of the season so we don’t know how reliable the stats or the tape really are. Additionally, the injury itself is a concern, especially because foot injuries tend to haunt players in the NBA.
An advantage for him though, is that he’s had 10 months without having to play competitive basketball, giving him enough time to recover. He’s also not the greatest ball handler nor is he good around the rim but what he can do from the outside is enough to make this irrelevant.