October 21: The Pacers have formally announced their extension with Nesmith, confirming the news in a press release.
“Aaron Nesmith embodies our team’s selfless, fast-paced style of play while also playing a key role in defining our culture, all of which is a testament to his talent, dedication, and commitment to this organization and our fans,” president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “We look forward to Aaron’s continued growth and contributions to both our team and our community, and we’re proud to have reached an agreement that will keep him here in Indiana.”
October 20: The Pacers and starting small forward Aaron Nesmith have agreed to a two-year, $40.4MM extension, agent Mike Lindeman tells ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal includes a trade kicker, Charania adds.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), Nesmith will earn $11MM each of the next two seasons. His extension, which begins in two years, will pay him a projected $19.4MM in 2027/28 and $21MM in 2028/29.
Nesmith, who turned 26 years old last week, has developed into one of the NBA’s top 3-and-D players in Indiana. He was selected 14th overall in the 2020 draft and spent his first two seasons with the Celtics, who traded him to the Pacers in the 2022 offseason.
Over the past two regular seasons, the 6’5″ wing has averaged 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per contest, posting an excellent shooting line of .500/.423/.829. Nesmith played an integral role in the Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals earlier this year, appearing in all 23 playoff games (28.3 MPG) while averaging 12.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .472/.492/.861 shooting.
Charania, citing ESPN research, says Nesmith’s 49.2% mark from long distance was the best percentage of any player who has attempted at least 100 threes in the playoffs.
Nesmith was among a handful of players our Luke Adams identified last week as an under-the-radar veteran extension candidate. Two others from his list — Toumani Camara and A.J. Green — have inked new deals as well.
The maximum the Pacers could have offered Nesmith was a three-year deal worth up to $62.9MM — what he agreed to was the maximum he could have received on a two-year extension.
The deadline for veteran extensions for players on non-expiring contracts is at 10:59 pm CT tonight.