It’s been three weeks since the Boston Celtics selected Aaron Nesmith with the 14th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and the 21-year-old has plenty to offer his new team.
Whether it’s his stellar shooting skills or his general offensive prowess, the Vanderbilt product comes well-equipped for the NBA. There is one thing, specifically, that Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has grown to admire in the rookie, though.
“I really like what I’ve seen so far from his ability to learn from things day-to-day and apply them the next day,” Stevens told reporters Tuesday, per MassLive’s John Karalis.
With players like Kemba Walker and Tristan Thompson still working through injuries, Boston’s bench will have to step up in the interim. And considering Nesmith’s potential, he could be a solid candidate to come off the bench.
Stevens, however, isn’t rushing that notion just yet.
“We’re four practices in. I have no idea if he will be a part of the rotation or not,” he said. “… But that stuff will sort itself out.”
First, Nesmith must build up his stamina and get into game shape. And that isn’t necessarily a simple task.
“It’s a lot,” Nesmith said. “Coming in really fast, quick turnaround, so I’m just trying to come in with a mindset of getting better every single day, getting one percent better than I was yesterday while trying to apply the schemes we are trying to run and things that we’re trying to incorporate on offense and defense.”
Nesmith has just two weeks to get prepped for the upcoming season due to the NBA’s historically short layoff. We’ll see how and when the C’s plan to use him once they kick off their season Dec. 23.
