Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Profile: Aaron Nesmith
By Zach Lung
Aaron Nesmith is a candidate for the Minnesota Timberwolves to pick in the first round.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a busy and important offseason ahead of them, and the draft is a major piece of it.
The 2020 offseason has effectively already kicked off with the recent news that owner Glen Taylor is considering selling the team that he has owned since 1994. While the smoke clears on the ownership front, the current front office led by Gersson Rosas looks to shape the Timberwolves’ roster for the upcoming season, whenever it may start.
Perhaps the most important part of the roster construction will occur on Oct. 16, the new date for the NBA Draft. And with two first-round picks to play with, Aaron Nesmith’s ability to shoot should cement his name as one to look out for.
Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Profile: Aaron Nesmith
The Minnesota Timberwolves are anxiously awaiting the unveiling of the draft order, set to happen on Aug. 20. The team is also paying close attention to the NBA bubble in Orlando as a playoff berth by the Brooklyn Nets would result in an additional top-16 pick heading to Minnesota as part of the three-team trade highlighted by Robert Covington and Malik Beasley.
With Minnesota likely to have two high picks in the upcoming draft, the scouting department has their work cut out for them as they must evaluate a plethora of college basketball talent without the luxury of commonplace things such as march madness and draft combine results.
One player that may be attainable with either of Minnesota’s presumed picks is Vanderbilt wing Aaron Nesmith.
Nesmith enters the draft with an impressive college stat-line with Vanderbilt but also carrying injury concerns after a foot issue ended his sophomore campaign in early January.
Fortunately, the wing will have all summer to rehab before the NBA’s revised draft date of OCt. 16, which just so happens to be the same day that Nesmith will be celebrating his 21st birthday.
While his age and injury concerns have pushed his draft stock towards the back of the lottery, there are still a lot of aspects to like when evaluating Nesmith’s basketball skillset. In many ways, Nesmith is the prototypical wing for the system that Gersson Rosas is looking to deploy.