Why did we draft Nesmith again?

[Vermont Green]

I look at this just the opposite.  The result that is surprising relative to what you would expect is that Pritchard is playing, not that Nesmith isn't.  Rookies this season have had about a week of practice and 2 preseason games.  No summer league, no training camp, and somehow it is surprising that they are not ready for the season?

That Pritchard is ahead of expectation should not be taken as an indication that Nesmith is behind or that Stevens is a bad coach.  Stevens has one rookie right on the expected progression and one well ahead.  Doesn't that make him a great rookie developer?

What I have seen out of Nesmith so far has looked pretty good.  I never expected him to the be the answer to the Celtics lack of wing depth this season and certainly not from the get go.  Langford may get into the rotation but more likely, we will need to pick up a veteran.

[CFAN38]

Our 26th pick is playing minutes every game, our 30th pick (bane) is playing in Memphis.

Why didnt we just trade pick 14 and keep PP and Bane?

Or why didnt we just draft PP at 14?

Judging a draft in the first season is really dangerous let alone the first week. With that said I really am not a fan of how DA handled the 2020 draft and have posted previously your exact thought on trading away #14 and just keeping Bane.

I wanted the Cs to take #14 Hampton, Anthony, or Maxey and then at #26 or #30 Bane or Tillman

It is way to early to judge but I really fear Nesmith is being set up for failure. BS like many good NBA coaches uses defense as the prerequisite to get on the court. Nesmith's biggest struggles appears to be with guarding NBA wings out on the perimeter. His lateral quickness looks to be on the low end compared to his size. (during the draft process I thought he moved like a 6'8 235' wing not a 6'6 215lb wing). He will really need to refine his defensive skill set over the course of this season in order to get consistent court time, if this doesn't happen quickly I fear his confidence will be effected. 

[LilRip]

Because PP was a senior and Nesmith was a freshman. PP seems to have a high floor, low ceiling and it’s why he’s ready for NBA minutes. Nesmith probably needs time to:
1. Pick up sets (both ends of the floor)
2. Develop his body more

I hope he’ll take Semi’s minutes in the 2nd half of the season.

[Roy H.]

As others have said, Nesmith played less than half a college season, had no summer league and no training camp.  Give it time.

[Roy H.]

Also, look at the numbers for the rookies around the league:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2020.html

A lot of guys aren’t getting minutes.

[Vermont Green]

Also, look at the numbers for the rookies around the league:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2020.html

A lot of guys aren’t getting minutes.

Hard to decipher this because some rookies have minutes in all games, some rookies didn't play at all in some games but have a higher overall average.  Some teams have played 3 games, some only 2. 

But the Celtics have a rookie (Pritchard) in the top end of the rookie minutes.  And they have another rookie in the low end.  This is totally a glass half full/empty thing to try and make Nesmith into a bad thing instead of accepting that Pritchard is a really good thing.

I guess Pritchard is good just because but Nesmith is proof Stevens is a bad coach?  I don't think either has much to do with Stevens at this point.

[NKY fan]

Why we drafted Nesmith? It’s hard to figure out exactly what Danny was trying to accomplish..
He is like the frequent stock trader that makes a lot of trades thinking he is beating the market but the more he drafts and makes draft day trades the more he ends up achieving nothing..
It’s hard to say whether we are better off with his draft picks vs trading them for veterans and signing role level vets for low $$

[PAOBoston]

Nesmith played like 10 games of college basketball, then got hurt, and didn’t play competitive basketball for almost a year. I’m not sure what people really expected. He’s a raw player. Yes, he can shoot (we think) but he really can’t do anything else well enough right now. He just needs to learn and adjust.

[Vermont Green]

Why we drafted Nesmith? It’s hard to figure out exactly what Danny was trying to accomplish..

I don't think it is so hard to figure out what Danny was trying to accomplish.  Most felt that a shooter/wing was a strong need for the team going into the draft (and still is).  Drafting him "accomplished" addressing a need while selecting what many felt was the best available talent overall at pick 14.

This pick, like every pick in every draft, is a gamble, a roll of the dice.  He may crash and burn like many before him, he may be a late bloomer and turn out to be a steal.  But I don't think there is any mystery as to what Danny was trying to accomplish.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Nesmith will be a rotation player for the Cs by the end of the season. He's a hard worker and smart player. At this point, his reaction time on rotation defense is probably not as quick as Semi's. Offensively, he's a bit too erratic. Reps in practice will get him confidence and improve his reaction time.

He'll earn minutes like Langford did last season. Langford earned 14 seconds total in his first 24 games. The thing about Nesmith's game is that if he can figure it out defensively like Langford did last season (and I think he can), he will be a much more valuable offensive player. Langford's best offensive skills are when the ball is in his hands a good amount. Imagine having Nesmith hitting 45-50% from the corner three instead of 19% like Langford. That not only is good production, but it would definitely open things up for Tatum, Teague, Brown, and Walker.

I have high hopes for both players. I think it is possible that by the end of this season, the Celtics could be one of the deepest teams in the league with some of the most intriguing young talent.

[Chief]

Id prefer him over Semi in that 2nd unit with Tatum. 

[NKY fan]

Why we drafted Nesmith? It’s hard to figure out exactly what Danny was trying to accomplish..

I don't think it is so hard to figure out what Danny was trying to accomplish.  Most felt that a shooter/wing was a strong need for the team going into the draft (and still is).  Drafting him "accomplished" addressing a need while selecting what many felt was the best available talent overall at pick 14.

This pick, like every pick in every draft, is a gamble, a roll of the dice.  He may crash and burn like many before him, he may be a late bloomer and turn out to be a steal.  But I don't think there is any mystery as to what Danny was trying to accomplish.

I was talking in general in totality with all his draft moves as he hasn’t really achieved alpha (in investors terms).
He claims that draft picks are very valuable in today’s nba environment. I don’t think that’s the case as proven by Miami and Lakers. They made the most with the limited first round picks they had.
In today’s cap environment and max contracts ... there are a limited number of players that get the max deals while all others have to fight for the “scraps”...
while rookies are cost controlled for multiple years... they still get north of 3M per year quarantined while “marginalized and proven role players have to take on vet min deals or something slightly above. There are too many eaxmples of that. I guess I meant that draft picks as assets are overrated unless of course they are somehow belonging to a team that is guaranteed to be bad or at least that is the perception of it.
With that said the Sacramento and the Memphis picks which turned out to be #14 were a disappointment as expectations before the season starts was they will be in top 10...
Well waking away from 2 draft picks with such high perceived value with only Romeo and Nesmith to show for is definitely not a great return.
This is why I’m not sure what Danny is trying to accomplish

[knuckleballer]

I have a tough time understanding how people didn’t realize he was a project.  He was not a high end prospect coming out of high school.  He didn’t do much or shoot particularly well his freshman year of college.  His sophomore year, he shot extraordinarily well, but only played 14 games with just one of those against a school from a power conference.  So he was only playing against second rate college players.  Also, his defense, ball handling, and passing were subpar for an NBA prospect.

He does have a special and important skill with his shooting and good size and athleticism.  He’s a project.  It’s going to take time to develop the other necessary skills and get used to playing against NBA caliber talent.

How many people here actually heard of him prior to his sophomore year or even before the mock drafts and draft analysis?

[knuckleballer]

Edit, double post

[knuckleballer]

Edit