NBA Draft 2020: How Aaron Nesmith fits with the New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Aaron Nesmith’s defensive abilities and offensive load are cause for pause

Aaron Nesmith’s Weaknesses

In terms of weaknesses, I don’t think Aaron Nesmith actually has any. Does he have areas where he struggles? Yes, all players do but he avoids those problems by understanding by playing his role.

If we are talking about those struggles through, it starts with attacking the basket. Nesmith is strong enough to get clean drives off of screens and closeouts but when he actually gets to the basket he fails to finish the drive.

That can be concerning at the NBA level is teams begin to run Nesmith off the line but if he’s on the floor with other stars around him then he shouldn’t be asked to drive to the basket much anyways.

Of course, his driving also leads to a slight problem of facilitating. Aaron Nesmith is not a great ball-handler yet, which is part of the reason why he’ll likely play on the wings in the NBA. He isn’t tight with his handle and fails to make anything more than a basic read when it comes to passing.

Again, is this concerning? Yes, but Nesmith won’t be asked to do much of this playing on the wing at the next level.

My final concern though is something that’s actually a weakness and that’s Nesmith’s ability to defend fast guards. Playing in the SEC, I watched Nesmith get torched at times by elite guard prospects like Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. and Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey.

At the NBA level, Nesmith will match up with fast players at times but hopefully, he’ll only be asked to handle players he matches up well with.