New Orleans Pelicans: 3 NBA draft prospects that could fall to 13
3. Aaron Nesmith – Forward, Vanderbilt
This would be a very solid pick for New Orleans. Nesmith is a player who a lot of post-lottery mock drafts have going a few picks ahead of where the Pelicans are selecting, but there’s a realistic chance he’s still available for them.
He’s a forward who had a ridiculous scoring year in his sophomore season with Vanderbilt, where he scored 23.0 points per game on .512/.522/.825 percent shooting splits. There’s nothing to dislike regarding Nesmith’s scoring game. He’d provide the Pelicans with much-needed shooting, especially from deep.
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As well as being one of the best pure scorers in the draft, Nesmith’s 6’6″, 211-pound frame gives him all of the physical aspects needed to become a great wing defender in the league. His high basketball IQ in addition to his hustle on the boards are tools that also provide him with great promise to develop as well on the defensive end as on the offensive end.
According to many scouting reports, Nesmith’s most obvious weakness is his ball-handling. For him to fit into this Pelicans side though, this wouldn’t be too much of a problem. When you have Lonzo Ball running the point as a complete pass-first guard, Nesmith isn’t going to have to be creating his own shot as much as he was in college.
Nesmith’s sophomore year statistics are fantastic. The only concern here is that they were over just a 14-game season. His skill set is there for all to see, though, and he’d bring the Pelicans instant offense with plenty of room to get better down the line.