Aaron Nesmith is already one of the Indiana Pacers' best defenders, but with Andrew Nembhard taking on a bigger offensive role, the Vanderbilt alum will need to take it up another notch this season.
The Pacers just signed Nesmith to a two-year, $40.4 million contract extension, and it's not hard to see why.
Ever since he was traded to Indiana by the Boston Celtics in 2022, the South Carolina native has established himself as one of the team's most important players.
Nesmith has become a legitimate sharpshooter with the Pacers (he is shooting 40.2% from deep on 4.4 three-point field goal attempts per game with the team), and he brings a lot of energy whenever he steps onto the court. He has become one of the best 3-and-D players in the game today, and he is the perfect fit for the Pacers since he can push the tempo and provide value in every area of the game.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Nesmith is Indiana's best wing defender, and it's not even that close.
This season, the 26-year-old's role with the Pacers is not expected to change much. He is still going to be their starting small forward, and he will be tasked with doing the same things. However, he may be forced to just do a little bit more of what he's already doing. And with Nembhard essentially taking on the Tyrese Haliburton role for a year, a lot more pressure will be on Nesmith to continue making an impact on the defensive side of the ball.
Aaron Nesmith will be crucial to the Pacers' defensive success
The Pacers are sliding Nembhard over to point with Haliburton out for the year, and this is 100% the right call. He has stepped up countless times when the team has needed him to, and he has been a fantastic secondary ball-handler in Indiana for years.
However, he is going to take on a much bigger offensive role this season, and that might cause his defense to slip a little bit.
The Canadian native's defense makes him an important part of Indiana's success. However, now that he is going to have a monumentally big offensive role, he may be less effective on defense as he aims to keep his energy and balance.
This is where Nesmith comes in.
He is already a great defender, but he will now have to turn it up another level to make up for Nembhard's presumed defensive regression.
As it stands, the Pacers are going to start Bennedict Mathurin at shooting guard. Offensively, this should be great news. Defensively, it could lead to a disaster.
Mathurin is not much of a defender, yet he's going to be tasked with guarding the ball a lot more, per head coach Rick Carlisle.
"Asked Carlisle about Mathurin. Says he needs Mathurin to make smart reads, shoot the ball when he's open and move it. Says he'll be asked to guard the ball more this season than he has in part to make life a little bit easier on Andrew Nembhard," Dustin Dopirak wrote on X.
Ultimately, this could work out in the end, but there are reasons to be skeptical.
Nesmith has experience guarding wings and guards if needed. He is very versatile, and the Pacers will need to rely on that much more this season. It won't be enough to make them a league-leading defense, but it might impact Indiana's outlook for this season as it aims to make some noise and exceed expectations yet again.