Re-drafting the 2020 NBA Draft — 26. Aaron Nesmith, Boston Celtics
The Celtics get Aaron Nesmith after all, only this time at 26th instead of 14th. This is strong value. Nesmith has flashed his elite shot-making in Summer League, and after a bumpy start to his career, he came around big-time late in his rookie season. By the playoffs, Nesmith was a genuinely useful player.
With Bane already on the board at 14, the Celtics double up on shooters. Both player similar positions and could be viewed as redundant, but frankly, it’s hard to have too many 3-point threats on the floor. The Celtics’ ran dry behind the 3-point line too often last season, so getting two potentially great wing shooters in a win.
Nesmith also impacted the game in other ways last season, doing more defensively than expected coming out of Vanderbilt. He’s a good high-energy player, and has clearly bought into his role with the franchise. Boston probably regrets taking him in the lottery, but much like Toppin and New York, Nesmith is worth keeping around this late in the first round. He shot 37.0 percent from deep on 5.8 attempts per 36 minutes as a rookie.