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3 hours ago
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As Aaron Nesmith went nuclear in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Knicks, the social media comments began to roll in.
Without fail, NBA fans were criticizing the Boston Celtics for ever trading Nesmith to the Indiana Pacers.
Except, well, it's very much not that simple.
In fact, that trade worked out to be as much of a win-win as any deal you could draw up.
First, let's revisit the trade itself:
- Celtics receive: Malcolm Brogdon
- Pacers receive: Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Daniel Theis, Juwan Morgan, Malik Fitts, 2023 first-round pick
Brogdon won a Sixth Man of the Year Award in Boston, but that's not all.
The guard then became a key piece to get the Jrue Holiday trade over the line.
So really, the Celtics traded Nesmith, a few first-round picks and Robert Williams in a two-step deal to wind up with Holiday.
And in case you haven't caught up yet, here's the key to acquiring Holiday: He helped the Celtics finally get over the finish line and win an NBA championship.
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Yes, Nesmith is now the best player out of that initial trade. If the Celtics still had him, maybe he'd be their starting 2-guard in the Eastern Conference Finals right now.
But Nesmith wouldn't have been what Boston needed to win the NBA Finals. Holiday was, and that's where the path of trading away Nesmith led the Celtics.
The Pacers, on the flip side, didn't need Brogdon. They were trying to enter a new era, and while the rest of the acquisitions didn't mean much, Nesmith has grown into a fantastic player.
Even before his six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter against the Knicks, Nesmith had proven to be a valuable rotation piece that could stick around for years to come.
That's the definition of a win-win trade. The team closer to its contention window won a championship. The team trying to build up more slowly gets a long-term piece.
Anyone trying to tell you the Celtics made a bad decision is simply wrong.
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