2 teams that could engage the Boston Celtics for an Aaron Nesmith trade

Boston Celtics trade partner No. 1) Orlando Magic

After two consecutive down seasons that were filled with an emphasis on purging their veterans, the Orlando Magic are in for the long haul when it comes to a full-fledged rebuild and, generally speaking, teams in this phase are highly interested in acquiring as many young and spry commodities as possible.

As things currently stand, within their current collection of high potential prospects on their roster they find themselves boasting a stellar assortment of both guards (Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, RJ Hampton) and bigs (Franz Wagner, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter, Jonathan Isaac), and, what with the fact that they hold the top pick in this year’s draft, many are under the impression that they’ll be adding to this impressive frontcourt collection with either Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren or Auburn power forward Jabari Smith.

Now, while this should absolutely be viewed as an all-out positive for the Magic, when looking at their rotation moving forward they seem to be lacking significantly at one key position that, in today’s game, is almost as vital to a team’s core as a franchise-caliber one.

That position: wing.

Sure they have Terrence Ross as the current mainstay in this area of the rotation, but, as years of rumors and common sense will indicate, Orlando’s front office will likely be looking to move on from the veteran before his contract expires next summer and, should they do this, they’ll almost certainly be looking to get back some more youth or draft capital in return for his services.

Though the Boston Celtics may not be able to offer them the latter, they could be viewed as a desirable trade partner outside of this, as the Magic could try and flip their 31-year-old for the C’s 22-year-old in Aaron Nesmith.

When coming into the league back in 2020, the Vanderbilt product was viewed by the masses as being one of the best scoring prospects and arguably the best shooter in his respective class.

Though things may have yet to go the way in which as many believed they would throughout his two-year stint at the next level, throughout his tenure in the association he’s shown flashes of having the ability to translate his collegiate skills to the pros, though he hasn’t been able to showcase this potential at a consistent rate.

Even during this postseason, while he hasn’t been a major contributor for the C’s, the wing has showcased some of the offensive abilities that made him a lottery pick in the first place while also showing glimpses of some solid defensive chops as well (that three-block and tremendous hustle performance against Miami in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, anyone?).

That said, the only problem is he still needs time to hone his skills, and, when on a championship-aspiring team like Boston, getting the attention necessary to do this is a bit hard to come by.

Perhaps a team like Orlando that is in the midst of a youth movement could see his situation like so and, in turn, bestow Nesmith the proper amount of time and attention it will require in order to help his development moving forward.