Aaron Nesmith got paid on Monday night, but he began signing the contract 153 days ago when he powered the Indiana Pacers in their Game 1 win over the New York Knicks.
Hitting five — FIVE — three points in the final few minutes of regulation and scoring 20 fourth quarter points to set the stage for one of Tyrese Haliburton’s clutch baskets has a way of convincing the front office it’s worth keeping you around. And it wasn’t just a one game occurrence of him being a flamethrower, his 49.2% shooting from 3 represents the best shooting percentage by anyone with more than 100 attempts in a single playoffs and he entered the elite realm of 50/40/90 during the regular season in his 45 games.
Shams Charania reported it’s a two-year, $40.4 million contract extension to take him and the Pacers to the end of the 2028-29 season — that’s the next four seasons and Indiana will pay him roughly $62 million in that span. It was the max Nesmith could sign for in an extension.
The math averages out $15.5 a year, though the $20.2 he’ll receive in the final two years, which is roughly 13% of the current cap and would put him in the neighborhood of Cameron Johnson, Norman Powell, and Jarrett Allen salary-wise.
In short, it’s a good deal for the Pacers though Nesmith could make it look even better if he elevates his game in new ways while the team’s offensive engine is on the mend.
The absence of Haliburton will change how he and the Pacers will be asked to play and the roles they inhabited a season ago. Instead of being a moving shooter, he could be expected to create more for himself offensively. Defenders won’t have to keep one eye on Haliburton and one on him as they’ll be able to focus their efforts in a way they couldn’t a season ago.
Statistically, Nesmith was near the bottom of the league in unassisted field goals last year as 85% of them were assisted. That is one reason why he was near the top of the NBA in effective field goal percentage at 61.7%. Nesmith lived in the corners and on the wing as a 3-point shooter but was more than capable from the midrange as well as Indiana’s offense always seemed to be looking for whoever had the cleanest shot.
If he only camps out in the corners his effectiveness may not be the same this season. Nesmith can find easier buckets if Indiana is successful in its efforts to continue the relentless pace and chaos that aided them in their Finals run last year, but it won’t be easy to replecate Haliburton’s vison and passing. Nesmith, along with Andrew Nembhard, ranked near the top of the NBA in points created in transition last season according to Cleaning the Glass.
Defensively speaking, Nesmith served as the pivot point for the Pacers as he typically took on the larger guards and wings the Pacers faced. While Nembhard was better against the smallest guards, Nesmith’s flexibilty to guard several position was a virtue in itself. Nesmith could handle the screens and obstacles put in his way as he hounded his offensive counterpart. His physical nature sometimes gets the best of him as he could find himself in foul trouble, but it also meant whoever he was guarding was in a fight for any points they got.
This season serves as a chance for Nesmith to sharpen some of his skills in the face of increased pressure. Indiana often suffered when Haliburton couldn’t find his shot early in games, but Nesmith elevating his own play could help make those stretches less dire. It will be a major adjustment as he served as in an complemntary style most nights.
This season could be fraught with ups and downs as Nesmith and the Pacers naviagate who they are as a team without their star player. If Nesmith can evolve his game into a more independent style that’s less predicated on the gravity of Haliburton, this ‘lost’ season can have a silver lining.
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