New Orleans Pelicans: Aaron Nesmith Could be Redick’s Replacement

Aaron Nesmith’s Strengths

Nesmith might be the best shooter in college basketball.

Before his injury, Nesmith was shooting an outstanding 52.2 percent from long-range on a staggering 8.2 attempts per game.

Many of these were from NBA range, as Nesmith was the focal point of the opposing defense and was often double-teamed, making his percentage even more impressive.

Even for the shorter college 3-point shot, those are eye-opening numbers.

But Nesmith doesn’t just shoot the 3-point shot, as he hit 50 percent of his 2-point shots as well for an effective field goal percentage of 65.9 percent, which is outstanding for a guard.

At 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 inch wingspan, he mostly played small forward in college, but he projects as a shooting guard in the NBA, where his height and length will be of even more value.

Nesmith has a quick release and will be able to shoot over small two-guards, and pairing him with the 6-foot-7 Lonzo Ball would give the New Orleans Pelicans one of the tallest backcourts in the NBA.

Most scouts focus on Nesmith’s shooting percentages and 23 points per game, but he also pulled down 4.9 rebounds and could potentially be a plus-rebounder from the guard position.

In fact, his numbers are eerily similar to another shooting guard in the NBA, Klay Thompson. Both Nesmith and Thompson were excellent shooters in college but could also use their height to grab boards.

Thompson averaged 5.2 rebounds a game as a junior at Washington State and Nesmith grabbed 4.9 as a sophomore at Vanderbilt.

The comparisons don’t stop there. Thompson shot 39 percent from 3-point range for his college career, Nesmith shot 41 percent.

Thompson shot 82.7 percent from the free throw line to Nesmith’s 82.5 percent. Ok, you get the point.

The only significant difference between the two is that Thompson was a better playmaker, averaging 2.6 assists per game for his college career to Nesmith’s 1.3 per game.

So yes, I am saying that the New Orleans Pelicans have a chance to draft the next Klay Thompson, a guy who can shoot the lights out and has the height to be an effective rebounder and defender.

But Nesmith is not there yet, as he also has flaws that are similar to the knocks on Thompson when he was entering the NBA.