The old adage “never wrong, just early” rang true for the Boston Celtics on Monday night when Aaron Nesmith reportedly agreed to a two-year, $40.4 million contract extension with the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith has agreed to a two-year, $40.4 million contract extension with the franchise through the 2028-29 season, plus a trade kicker, agent Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports Management tells ESPN. Pacers give Nesmith the max allowed salary via extension. pic.twitter.com/c5zUYN3yj6
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 21, 2025
The former Celtics lottery pick has carved out a real role for himself with the Pacers over the past three seasons. For Indy, this extension was a no-brainer. Nesmith has impacted winning in one of the franchise’s most successful stretches, as they just went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals and have reached the past two Eastern Conference Finals.
His heroics in Game 1 of this past Conference Finals set the tone for the series. Nesmith’s 17 points in the final 3:14 of regulation helped the Pacers erase a 14-point deficit and escape the jaws of defeat at Madison Square Garden.
Last year, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 25.0 minutes per game in Indiana. Nesmith got his buckets efficiently, too. He drilled 50.7% of his attempts from the field and 43.1% from beyond the arc.
Nesmith probably wouldn't have succeed with his limitations in Boston
Of course, things were different for Nesmith before he was traded to Indy in June of 2022 as part of the Malcolm Brogdon trade. To that point, he’d spent two seasons with the Celtics and hadn’t seen much opportunity behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The former Vanderbilt standout appeared in a total of just 98 games in that span, playing about 12.7 minutes each time. His averages were far less impressive, too, at just 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game on 41.7/31.8 shooting splits.
It’s always funny when a player like Nesmith is traded and then flourishes elsewhere. Fans get upset and say the front office lost the trade and whatnot, but the reality is that it was a win for all three parties involved. Boston got its NBA title in 2024 after rerouting Brogdon for Jrue Holiday, the Pacers have been awesome, and Nesmith has thrived with his new opportunity.
If he had remained with the Celtics, it feels pretty unlikely that the opportunity would’ve been there for Nesmith to blossom into the player he is now. He would’ve been extremely limited by Tatum and Brown, who remain the pillars of the franchise, and had far less room for growing pains.
Sure, it would absolutely be nice to still have him in town, but there are just too many variables to feel like Nesmith would’ve panned out regardless.