2020 NBA Draft - Brew Hoop Community Draft Board: Aaron Nesmith Swishes in at 11

In the first edition of our community draft board, shooting won out over all, with the versatile guard Aaron Nesmith taking the 11th spot on our community draft board. Nesmith is a demon from beyond the arc, nailing 52.2% of his 3-point attempts last season. That’s ““fan yourself” territory. He carries a Middleton-esque frame with a 6’6” height but 6’10” wingspan. He’s still got some youth left to explore too, at only 20 and a half years old after leaving Vanderbilt following his sophomore season. While not the most gifted ball handler or creator, he does have the ability to drive to the hoop and try to finish through contact once there.

While there is still plenty of room for improvement on his interior finishing, he was able to get to the free throw line at a higher clip than his freshman season, 30% vs. 25% his first year. Not a huge difference, but a difference that matters when you’re a knockdown shooter from the stripe. What might give folks pause for his incredibly hot stroke is the relatively limited sample size for Nesmith last season. He played in only 14 games, and the 52% came on 115 attempts after hitting just 33.7% his freshman year on 175 attempts. The silver lining is that his free throw percentage barely moved year over year, staying steady at 82.5%. Assuredly any team that drafts him will be hoping for a knockdown shooter in the low 40s from beyond the arc if they want to maximize his gravity while shuttling him around the court.

Watching his highlights, he seems comfortable operating and finding open slivers of space to free himself weakside for his teammates to pass him the rock. He also can pull up and hit a jumper in someone’s face or work as an off-ball, catch-and-shoot player. That will serve him well immediately as a rookie if he can nail it consistently working around screens.

His perimeter game certainly seems more advanced than when he gets into the teeth of the defense. While he can contort his body and still finish, he seems deterred when someone puts up heavy opposition at the rim. Against the mammoths of NBA defenses, his finishing will certainly need some refinement to go along with a stronger upper frame to handle the contact. For what it’s worth, Nesmith did miss part of the season with a right foot injury. It sounded like he was hopeful to return before the pandemic shortened the season though, so likely nothing too serious.

If Nesmith were to fall to the Bucks, I’m sure they would be fairly ecstatic to have a potential sharpshooting wing to pair alongside Khris Middleton. Shooting will likely be their priority this time around given the dearth of absolute knockdown shooters on the team. I do wonder if they would be looking for someone with a bit more ball handling ability though who could play point. How happy would you be readers if Nesmith fell to the Bucks?

Let us know in the comments and we will carry on with our rankings.

This poll will close on Wednesday, October 28 at 2 pm central.

Brew Hoop Draft Board Rankings

1. Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
2. LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks
3. James Wiseman, C, Memphis
4. Deni Avdija, SF, Israel
5. Isaac Okoro, SF, Auburn
6. Onyeka Okongwu, C, USC
7. Killian Hayes, PG, France
8. Obi Toppin, PF, Dayton
9. Devin Vassell, SG, Florida State
10. Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa State
11. Aaron Nesmith, SF, Vanderbilt