Among all the hubbub of the return of Indiana Pacers star point guard, fans have forgotten that Tyrese Haliburton is not the only important player they are bringing back into the fold. It's easy to forget that Aaron Nesmith played so little last year. After all, he is not the flashiest player even when he's on the court. The Vanderbilt product played in just 45 games, missing almost half of a year in which Indiana likely would've explored his shot-creation ability.
Nesmith arrived as a throw-in as part of the return for Malcolm Brogdon, infamously being referred to as a paperclip and pocket lint, and very quickly broke out. While the Boston Celtics saw him as a specialist bench piece, the Pacers maximized him nearly immediately.
With next year on the horizon, Nesmith's blend of shooting and defense should not be understated.
Here's what he brings that should push the Pacers back into contention (with all due credit to Haliburton as well).
Aaron Nesmith is 3-an-D wing the Pacers need
The Pacers are all in on continuity for next season. Their biggest additions are Ivica Zubac, who got five games of run after the midseason trade, and Kelly Oubre Jr.
With that in mind, the internal dogma is clear: let us get back our guys, and we'll go on a run.
To that point, Oubre feels like the middle ground between Siakam and Nesmith as a wing with decent size who can attack the rim and hit the occasional shot.
The Pacers have prioritized rim runners and open-court movers alongside Haliburton. On a roster built to maximize the fast break, there is likely no better recipient of those runouts than Nesmith.
Nesmith was a 50/40/90 player in 2024-25, thriving as an outlet for Haliburton's full-court passes. Despite Tyrese's absence last year, Nesmith still had a very efficient year, still making 37 percent of his shots from deep despite a much harder average shot quality.
That 37 percent mark is a career worst as a Pacer and still quite decent on a career high 6.3 threes a game volume.
Fans are typically hyper-fixated on stars and their performances. It's why Los Angeles Lakers fans are always baffled when role players swing games against them. However, Indiana is building a contender without a top-10 player on the roster, attempting to do something nearly impossible in the modern NBA.
However, while adding a role player like Nesmith may not be more important than bringing back Haliburton, who is the engine that makes the whole team run, his presence maximizes the impact that Tyrese has.
The Pacers know that Hali returning to full strength is the only way they can claim to be a contender next season. For that to materialize, they need to ease him back in, as seen in their approach to his injury rehab.
No one player on the roster can make Tyrese's job easier than Aaron. That makes his return just as vital.
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