Boston Celtics draft day regret No. 2) Drafting Aaron Nesmith over Cole Anthony
No, this is not us talking down about the long term potential Aaron Nesmith possesses as an NBA player.
After missing the majority of his final season at the collegiate level due to injury, it was expected that it would take him a while to get reacclimated to in-game action, let alone get used to playing at a professional level. In time, we believe his shot will begin to fall as he gets more comfortable in the association and, on a few occasions, has already shown he can be an offensive threat for the Boston Celtics.
That said, with the recent struggles by Kemba Walker, we believe that it may have been wise of the C’s front office to have prioritized zeroing in on some insurance policies at the point guard position.
One way they could have done this was by selecting Cole Anthony at 14th overall rather than Nesmith, a player who, though talented, plays a position locked down for the next several seasons with All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Now, we understand that the team ultimately nabbed a solid young prospect at the position in Pritchard but, frankly, this was somewhat lucky for, coming in, the Oregon product was often seen projected going in the second round.
Anthony, a highly revered prospect coming in, was available once the Celtics first found themselves on the clock, but elected to pass on the point guard, ultimately having him land in Orlando one pick later.
Through 17 starts, the rookie has found himself averaging 11.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 40 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from deep.
His long-term ceiling has been deemed as one of the highest of all the point guards apart of the 2020 draft and, knowing the ailments of Boston’s $140 million man, Ainge should have strongly considered bringing on Anthony.
Through the first quarter of play, and dealing with adversity himself with the Magic losing their starting point guard in Markelle Fultz due to injury, he has been quite impressive while learning on the fly and is showing reasons as to why he was so highly touted coming in.