The Sneaky Trade That Helped Complete The Pacers Title Contending Core

After beating the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals (in spectacular fashion, might I add), the Indiana Pacers are now just three wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years.

And considering where they were just a few years ago – annual first round fodder in an uninspiring conference – many folks are likely reflecting on all the timely transactions that got them to this point.

Some of it was diligent prospect evaluation. Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Ben Sheppard were all drafted by the Pacers in the last three years. They also made the most of free agency, re-signing the high-flying Obi Toppin. And, of course, there were the two blockbuster trades that gifted them their two best players: Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.

But lost in the chaos of all those moves was one trade that netted the Pacers the two-way wing that is now helping all these pieces fit together.

Aaron Nesmith Was An Afterthought In The Malcolm Brogdon Trade

In July of 2022, the rebuilding Pacers saw an opportunity to acquire some asset capital. So, they traded Malcolm Brogdon, their leading scorer from the prior season, to the Boston Celtics for a 2023 first round pick and five players.

One of those players was Aaron Nesmith. Nesmith has started all 28 playoff games for the Pacers over the last two seasons. But at the time of the trade, he was viewed as an afterthought. The headline of the NBA.com article on the trade even read, “The 2017 Kia Rookie of the Year is headed to Boston in exchange for a future 1st-round pick and a handful of players.”

This line of thinking wasn’t without good cause. To that point in his career, Nesmith had put together an uninspiring two-year run with the Celtics – averaging just 4.2 PPG and shooting just 31.8% from downtown. Meanwhile, Brogdon had averaged 18.9 PPG and 6.3 APG during his three seasons with the Pacers.

However, ever since then, Brogdon has struggled to stay healthy, and Nesmith has blossomed into the exact type of three-and-D role player this Pacers’ team desperately needs.

Nesmith Is The Pacers’ Three-and-D Ace

Every great team needs stars, but they also need well-fitting complimentary pieces to flank them. With Haliburton and Siakam as the two heads of the snake, the Pacers need a primary rim protector, secondary creation, and wing(s) that can defend the perimeter and hit open shots when the opportunity presents itself.

Myles Turner has been the Pacers’ defensive stalwart in the middle for a decade. Nembhard’s footwork and midrange touch make him the perfect off-speed pitch to Haliburton’s analytical approach. Nembhard is also a splendid point-of-attack defender (95th percentile Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes), but he isn’t suited for handling stronger assignments.

That is what makes Nesmith the perfect fifth starter. With an inch and roughly 35 pounds on Nembhard, Nesmith is the soldier the Pacers can call upon when they need a defender who can throw his weight around.

During the regular season, Nesmith’s most frequent matchups included the likes of Josh Giddey, DeMar DeRozan, Aaron Gordon, and Paolo Banchero (per NBA.com). And in the postseason, he’s been given each team’s best offensive player (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell, and Jalen Brunson) as his primary task.

No matter how fierce the adversary, Nesmith handles the challenge with grace. Antetokounmpo, Mitchell, and Brunson have all managed to put up impressive box score outputs with him shadowing them around the floor, but he has managed to make them work just enough to keep the Pacers on the winning end of games more times than not (they are 9-2 this postseason).

Then, there’s the shooting. Despite his lackluster 3-point numbers, Nesmith has always had solid shooting mechanics (as evidenced by his shooting 79.6% from the free throw line with the Celtics). But he’s worked hard to make sure his stroke translates to live-ball situations.

It’s gotten to the point where, this season, Nesmith hit 43.1% of his threes and 90.9% of his free throws. Those marks ranked 13th and eighth in the entire league, respectively (among players with at least 45 games played). This postseason, Nesmith is converting on a ridiculous 53.8% of his 5.9 3-point attempts per game.

This culminated in a Game 1 where Nesmith hit 8 of 9 threes en route to a 30-point performance, including five straight threes in the final three minutes of regulation to help send the game into overtime.

Nesmith’s ability to space the floor helps complete this high-octane Pacers’ offense. With him on the floor, the Pacers’ regular season offense improved by 9.1 points per 100 possessions (96th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass).

To get where the Pacers are now, it took a myriad of well-thought-out decisions. But let’s not forget the shot in the dark that landed Indiana their three-and-D ace.