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With the trade deadline hours away, Aaron Nesmith received zero minutes in a near-miracle win against Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Today, Keith Smith reported Nesmith is drawing more favorable interest than his fellow young wing, Romeo Langford.
According to league sources, Aaron Nesmith is drawing a good deal more interest from opposing teams than Romeo Langford. One team not talking trade with Boston told me "That tracks. Langford is such an unknown. That goes back to the draft. Nothing has changed since then."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 25, 2021
This makes sense, considering Nesmith is younger and a better shooter than Langford.
Nesmith received 15 minutes vs. Orlando, then 17 against Memphis in an overtime loss, so his drop in minutes was significant in a game the Celtics needed to win.
Not only was Nesmith receiving a solid chunk of minutes, which he hadn’t in a while, he was entering the game in non-garbage time. Against Memphis, Nesmith was the second bench player to be subbed in, when he was subbed in at the 4:14 mark in the first quarter.
Against Orlando, with a healthier roster including Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum, Nesmith was subbed in at the same time, 4:14 remaining in the first quarter.
It’s clear Nesmith has some trust with Brad Stevens, and if he stays around, would be a rotation player moving forward. But, with the Magic trading Nikola Vucevic unexpectedly, it’s clear Orlando is having a fire sale for their players, and Nesmith could be the young player Orlando wants in return for Aaron Gordon.
Reading into tea leaves too much will leave your eyes strained, but it’s clear to see the Celtics are heavily considering sending Nesmith to Orlando in order to make a win-now push with Gordon.