Boston Celtics: 2 teams that could look to trade for Aaron Nesmith
By Mark Nilon
Team that could look to trade for Aaron Nesmith No. 1) OKC Thunder
As we mentioned earlier, we believe the biggest reason why Aaron Nesmith has gotten off to such an uninspiring start to 2021-22 is because of his playing time and, more specifically, the lack thereof.
As we’ve seen from him in the past, when given a decent amount of minutes on the hardwood he has only managed to produce efficiently.
Be it last season when he averaged 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds on 42 percent shooting from deep when receiving 20+ minutes per game, during this past Summer League where he boasted averages of 17.4 points and 6.2 rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field in 26.7 minutes, or in the preseason where he posted 10.8 points on 53 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent shooting from deep in 17.1 minutes the 22-year-old has been rather impressive when given minutes.
Because of this, what better place to receive time on the floor than on a team that seemingly has all the time in the world in the OKC Thunder?
A franchise in the early stages of a full-fledged rebuild, Oklahoma City is viewed around the league as a location where players will have ample opportunities to showcase their skill sets to their fullest extent, be it to build back their status or simply to establish one.
With guys like Darius Bazley, Josh Giddey, and rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander running the show, it’s evident that the Thunder are far more focused on developing for the future rather than contending in the present, and a player such as Nesmith could be a quality addition to bring onto their unbelievably young and talented core.
Flush with more draft capital than they actually can even use, Sam Presti could dangle out a future first-round pick without thinking twice about it, which could be of great interest to the Boston Celtics who, assuming they will just continue to have the wing collect dust on the bench if they opt to keep him, could view such an asset as a way to get a do-over in the draft, so to speak.