NBA Draft: Top 3 small forwards for the New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Small forward prospect Aaron Nesmith

Aaron Nesmith

Nesmith will likely end up playing some shooting guard in the NBA depending on where he is drafted, but at 6-foot-6 with a giant 6-foot-10 wingspan, he has the size to defend the wing.

Nesmith projects as a potentially deadly scorer in the NBA, as he knocks down the 3-pointer at a high rate (52.2 percent) but can also pull up off the dribble and hit the mid-range.

Scouts didn’t get to see much of him, as he only played 14 games this season at Vanderbilt, mostly against low-level competition.

There are also some questions about his defense, as he had such a high usage rate at Vandy that he wasn’t asked to do much on the defensive end.

Will his huge wingspan translate to a disruptive defender?

Even if it doesn’t Nesmith should be a knock-down spot-up shooter if nothing else and every team can use a few more of those.

On the low end, he’s Duncan Robinson and on the high end, he’s J.J. Redick with size, which makes him a pretty safe prospect for the 13th pick.

He’s the guy most sites have the Pelicans taking, so if he is available we might see him in New Orleans next season.