20-24: A Nesmith Odyssey

[bkcardcollector]

nice elephants

[Nomad]

13. '20-21 Prizm

I feel like this is a countdown thread. A great moment to be a Nesmith collector and a great set. Pacers' 18-18 rollercoaster steady, yin and yang.

Countdown to... return. After two months of waiting. Dramatic entrance and actually really fast recovery from double sprain. The appropriate time for Nesmith to come back will be game 1 or 2 of the little Pacers-Cleveland b2b.

Apparently Dub A ramping up 5 on 5, no one is sure yet if contact. Interestingly, while the Ps have already won the season series vs. the Celtics, they have not yet taken on the Cavs. Rare, this late against a major Eastern Conference would-be rival.

Prizm is a set I love because it is just beautiful. The bendy lines they did as a background pattern that year are phenomenal. The chrome just pops in color variations. And yeah, it's also the flagship.

Nesmith specific, it is the one set he was in first second and third years in the league, so a chronicle of two years on the Cs and his first on the 'Cers. For the second year it was his only issue. Of course that's better than fourth year Nesmith, officially an over-the-hill wash at age 24 and not worthy of regular set inclusion. Same reason they rain Hali highlight clips on Inside the NBA the moment he has a decent game.

True Hali's back to skipping, along with sideline muscle James Johnson, and Mathurin has basically supplanted Doube A in the starting 5 (Walker might just wind up eating everyone's salaries and it was nice to see him conferring with Aaron after he went on a run). Meanwhile Nembhard actually leads the team.


true blue jn 026 in the middle.


I't's late, I'll get to the dets mañana.

[GuacamoleCards]

Hearing rumors of Pacers going after Cam Johnson with Nesmith potentially heading out. Will be curious if that happens, what impact would that have on your PC?

For the record, I'd love to have him on the Spurs.

[boxbuster7]

Tell your boy to get in shape nomad

[Nomad]

I see him in pre-game practice in Brooklyn now raining down threes. I like Nesmith and Toppin as a unit actually. It would basically open a lot of hobby potential in both players, considering how hungry Nets fans are for anything and I do think Aaron excels as a system builder.

Probably too late for Nets to get the team in gear for a playoff run, so it would set the timetable back another year. But then again, Pacers could win it all in Indiana and Double A would get minimal flowers.

[Nomad]

Oh man, if dude goes to my old home team, I could really get into this NBA thing. Warriors have a chance to get somewhere this season. Same 18-17 record as the Pacers, though I hear they've taken a little dip.

Some in the Pacers community were pointing to a potential trade as the reason for extended rehab, but didn't want to get hopes up. But GS sounds sweet, Nesmith would have a nice 2 season window on the current discounted contract to make something happen and keep Steph in the league. Who could have projected Walker and Math would gel so hard that getting rid of key defensive talent would even be a possibility for Indiana?



Confused as to what this graphic actually means. Would it be some complex 3-way swap that sends picks and maybe Obi and a player from the Warriors to Brooklyn, Cam Johnson to Indiana, and Nesmith to Golden State? Aaron as the new Draymond, never overthought it.

Okay a few more dets.

[Nomad]

So now I get the logic in Nesmithian fashion. It takes really leaning back from the hobby to get it.

Tuned into the last 15 minutes of a pretty resounding win of the Warriors vs. the Pistons.

I was trying to imagine Aaron on that team and surprisingly it worked. Steph basically has an aging Draymond doing the dirty work. And who better to take some of that load than "Mr. Dirty Work"?

Also, there is Schroeder and Hield, two of my favorite all time vets, on the team. Aaron gets to be good friends with characters, so his old Celtics and 'Cers teammates have probably been keeping a spot on the bench warm for him. And he probably knows Steph from the links.

So... I think young hero basically needs to make a decision. Go for a ring this year and possibly have a bench role behind an emergent Math and Walker? Or go for a ring this year and basically have Looney's bench (or is he starting?) role. Looney actually performed nicely in this last game. He is no Kobe Bryant (edit:Thomas Bryant), but....

Every deal is open when players actively want to get to Indiana. Cam and Looney as a haul for "Melton replacement" Nesmith and Obi (who really needs to ball out in NY) would be nice consolation package and basically allow Indiana to gain another year as a competitive team with their young rookie-scale core.

I am eagerly tuned to the bench dynamics on both sides in this Pacers-Warriors game at Gainbridge Field tomorrow. Fans have been commenting Nesmith out so long, he retired....

[Nomad]

Treasure Trovin'

So I had a few more sets to throw out there but I realize talking about new pickups is more interesting. Question for seasoned investors: if your guy is on the bench but the team just pounded the best team in the East on their home court, does his value rise, fall, or remain neutral?

Donovan Mitchell was also sitting for the Cavs so, I guess that answers the question. I wonder, since DMitch is set to be back on Tuesday, will Indy try to out physical him with Nesmith? Interesting that both teams' most physical presence sat out and Indiana wound up with the decided edge.

But that was only after Tyrese Haliburton sat out the second half with tight hamstring and the Pacers mounted their 15 point comeback to win by double digits for the 5th straight time.

Wow.

The cards Im enjoying at the moment, other than my five Noir Screenplay patches of mid-career vets, are solid Nesmith. A gold '22-23 Prizm /10; a Lava Revolution /10; a '20-21 Panini Instant Rookie Premier Signatures dual auto Pritchard/Nemith black 1/1, an orange cracked ice '20-21 Prizm Penmanship, a silver (?) '22-23 Elite Impact Impressions /25, and a '21-22 Panini Instant CF Playoffs Versicolor /5.

Also, are Nembhard's prices edging Math and Siakam's slightly?

[Nomad]

14. '20-21 and '22-23 National Treasures

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

With all due respect to m'Lord Kneesmiff, he's only a better player when Luther's incapacitated on a gurney. Which is often; yes. But that's it.

I think about what ninja says and then I think of how he single-handedly contained Brunson and willed Indy to a win with bang-the-paint offense in the 3rd quarter at MSG, Semifinals game 7. Possibly more than young Z will ever get on his resume.

I've been watching inevitably deflating NT breaks (you could hit a Wemby and they would call it a non-auto RPA to keep the orange /75 non GU hype going). Really, by this time in the cycle they should have at least obtained a player worn alien jersey off the Cebu calcite trading exchange.

But what the breaks really reinforce is how much money you would need to shell out to get a slim collection of RC goodies like this of any decent player. Yes, these really hit hard. But it's like paying $1200 for a bottle of wine that isn't necessarily vintage or needed.

Speaking of which, Nesmith still riding the bench tomorrow (in a game the Cers need for the inevitable Cavs tiebreaker). Is this about keeping the good stuff corked, when the chemistry flowing? He doesn't seem to be limping at all.

One thing NT does very well is get the team color thing going. I used to feel slightly ashamed of the Boston colors, being a Pacers' convert, but now I understand it's part of his biography.



If you've been reading my dribble over the years, you've seen this beauty. Celtics C patch and all. Unconscious finger signaling (is that the stackin' days sign?), not my favorite image but at least Panini dares to go goofy.



Interestingly, turned-around horizontal is revealed as the Boston B. So yeah I am kind of a patch nerd. It gives me something to aspire to, a vertical B so I can really display the nameplate pair (Have never seen anything close).



You're probably wondering what Cornerstones junk is doing in an NT assemblage. It's design wise the closest to an NT patch and, to be honest, I am lacking a really grail NT. So it's a placeholder. Also, in my years of trolling eBay it's the only decent quad patch of Cornerstones I've ever seen appear. Those boxes must be printed to the moon.



This is the odd Nesmith 3rd year Celtics card. It wasn't that Nesmith was truly insert worthy at that time, I get it. They needed to use up the rest of his GU jersey from rookie Flawless in product. Really. They only had his Celtics jersey and were too lazy to pick up a Pacers jersey, so Biography, which celebrates past teams, was the place to put it. This explains why all of the /99 is green tissue and the /5 is stan smith white and green. Still, Biography as a set is a cool concept and I'm glad this exists.



This is one that was staring at me on the Bay for months before I pulled the trigger. One day I went and looked through available patches, at whatever price, and decided this prime was the best. The stock market graph, yeah any player is one ankle tweak or tight hamstring away from the bench.


One bad all-in rookie investment play away from bankruptcy. One trade to a team out in the cornfields. Unless he starts stackin' days, climbing again.

Anthony Edwards:

'20-21 NT vertical RPA /99 BGS 8.5 $20,988.00
'20-21 NT horizontal RPA /49 BGS 9.5/10 $3,550 5d 21h left
'20-21 NT Colossal Materials /49 PSA 9 $1,913


Nesmith:

'20-21 NT vertical RPA /99 $399.00
'20-21 NT horizontal RPA /49 $119.99
'20-21 NT horizontal RPA /75 $113.00
'20-21 NT Colossal Materials Prime /25 $24
'20-21 Chronicles Cornerstones /25 $12
'22-23 NT Biography /5 $2.37

[bkcardcollector]

dang 400 bucks, those rpas are crazy. wouldnt mind seeing the backs of those jersey cards, any gu?

[Nomad]

Coulda waited 4 years and got the true RPA for three fiddy. Crazy how things work in the hobby, you can literally way surpass expectation and still lose value.

But you must be putting me on with the $400 expensive line. I mean a box of 10 cards costs you $3,000 (I think it was more in '20-21). And your average $300 card is an Adrian Dantley Cool Scripts.

The NT Biography are always GU. Like I explained, they had to use up the GU Flawless rookie patch some way. I actually counted up all the Nesmith game worn/used cards in existence. Spanning exactly two sets, all Celts. The total is like 230.

Also I lied. Some bios /99 are two color. Witness this beauty I just picked up.

[Nomad]

To get really patch nerdy, the /5 tennis shoe white and green polka dot Biography is kind of growing on me. It is like a really original form of two color, like a magnified comic strip, and from obviously a name or number plate traditionally sewn over the jersey.

Patch or no patch? Definitely stitch.


Some call it art in its brilliant simplicity.

[ninjacookies]

M'Lord back like he never left. Somethin' like 8 in the 1q with that that signature dobermann grit. Still bitter ya'll didn't cover the over after forgetting how2shoot the last 15 minutes of the game though.

But I rock witcha'll.

[Nomad]

Literally the failure to cover the over was a facet of Nesmith's strict time limitation. When you are just back and the ankles subject to unexpected stress, swelling occurs if you sit on the bench. You don't want to just come back in.

Interestingly, I haven't seen Haliburton grin that wide after a game in many moons. Doube A still have a bit of that crash/guard yard dawg in him to be sure. Siakam got a bit of the friendly fire bite going for a rebound and Hardaway still don't know what wrapped him up the head. The patented completely accidental flagrant foul.

As for the Isaiah beef stew 'Miles play lego' beef, I inadvertently picked up a trio of Nesmith printing plates the other day, including a 'wrong back' error that is apropos. Thanks to the dealer who gave me a nice price for the lot.




Note Isaiah Stewart - Detroit backing on upper right.

There are actually a lot of ways these cards complete touches in the collection. First, I now have a good, meaningful error grouping. The other example being the wrong Zion image Illusions RC.



Next, the Magenta Impeccable RPA plate gives me two of that issue.






The pps will look so nice with the jersey number 26/99 RPA in the middle.



Gonna have to rethink the kind of ad hoc on-card-auto RPA grouping, or maybe it will fit.



The reverse concept of a pp sandwiched by two low-number regular issue works well.



Almost forgot. A more complicated version of what you can achieve with two printing plates.


Celtics green to Pacers blue.

But that's not all. After like a year of looking at the plates on the Bay, it struck me that there are certain plates that really don't have available card correlates. A couple weeks ago I picked up this bad boy.



The vertical Flawless Laundry Tag is limited to /2 and I've never seen one surface. So basically this is a cheap (and available) way of having that design.


Call me completist.

Similar (though less extreme) holds true for this plate, the National Treasures Crossover 2011 Flawless RPA. In the KD pose of the era.


This issue is actually /10 and I did once see one on the Bay. Not sure why the jersey number is reversed? Not like that on other pps.

Whew! Anyway, maybe this is a good explanation of how much fun putting the finishing touches on a player collection can be. And how it never ends.

[bkcardcollector]

sweet 3 plates in one all rcs!

[Nomad]

Yeah, it was a pretty sweet pick up. In one go I got nearly 40 percent of the remaining plates on eBay. Each one I've purchased I like aesthetically somehow, no mean feat.

I think I've got 12 Nesmith printing plates total with these three. It's funny, in terms of difficulty finding, printing plates are slightly below 1/1s and jersey numbers ( I think I have 9-10 of each). And yet they are priced on eBay in the range of black velocity. Don't get it.

I do think that these kind of uniformly negative comments about printing plates among breakers is what influences collectors. But they have such mediocre taste in general, makes me value pps more.

[Nomad]

This is a really kind of cool time to be a Pacers fan, I'll admit it. Siakam was like, "yeah, Paris is sexy and all, but we got a game to play" and I think that's how they'll treat this week. Apparently Indiana has some French roots (French Lick) and there is an Indiana Cafe in Paris, so NBA fans (they are actually most prevalent in France) have an affinity for the Pacers. Nevermind Wemby, we'll have ardent supporters of Ty and co.

The really interesting thing is that finally Nesmith is in a rotation debate, which ups his visibility. He and Mathurin are like neck and neck, trying to outperform, earn that coveted last starting spot. Sucks that we have 11 outstanding players vying for a 10-man rotation, but I'll take it.

This is a card I've wanted for a long time. Hearkening back to football roots (he quit that sport when he had a concussion on the field), it's one of the best kind of "essential" snapshots of what Double A has always been willing to do to get the ball in the basket. Now that he's got paint finesse, kind of a throwback.


Is the 10/10 tux getting kind of popular?

I finally bit the bullet and shelled out 20 bucks for this 24/24 beauty (college jn perfect). What collectors will someday realize is it's Nesmith's only 'Cers Prizm. Some diss on the way the glitter overran the frame on this issue, I think its a nice unique one-time glitch.


I've made my piece with the 'poppin veins' aesthetic. I now consider it a Marvel card and kind of like it.

Reminds me that I picked up the gold /10 of same a couple weeks ago for a lower price. They mislabelled it yellow so the bots didn't recognize it and apparently I am the only Nesmith player collector.


My first gold Prizm. As good as I thought it would be (when you take it out of sleeve). Now that I have it in hand, I'll have to do a photo essay.

I picked up a yellow etch Obsidian /10 as well (they mislabeled that one "gold") for $13.50.


It's my second OB gold [sorry, yellow etch], but the other one is slabbed and, like Prizm, the only way to really appreciate the issue is raw.

Then this perfectly centered blue popped up. The warping looks questionable and it may be starting to green, but centering is like 80 percent of the grade to me.


You just don't see centered '20-21 blue Prizms like this.

Finally, I got another blue/25 of Nesmith's only licensed '23-24 issue. Phoenix Inferno. The only current-generation image of the "understated team leader" Double A era.


This pops so greatly out of sleeve.

So yeah, I've been running wild, but still managed to keep total spend under $100.

[bkcardcollector]

yes cer

[Nomad]

So this is an interesting game coming up against Detroit with something on the line. The true rivals week starts here. According to Obi Toppin: "It's gonna be a war, I guess. We expect that though. They got dawgs we got dawgs."*

Personally I want to see a little more of this:


10/10 effort/best version of self on the floor always.

This mailday Nesmith is quickly becoming my new favorite rookie card. Unlike the other two variations,Panin only used this photo once. Does that make it the "true" variation?


I just picked up the only other available copy of the card on the Bay. This way when it comes time to offload a large part of the collection I can keep a copy and pass it down through the generations.

The real question for Le Paceurs going into the game is will Nesmith or Mathurin start? Math started both games in Paris and I guess he earned it, but Aaron played a lot more when they won and closed the game as the crunch time "stop the Spurs run" warrior. First world problems, I know.



*Who was that dunking on "I assume he's gonna be a little sore tomorrow" McConnell in the middle of Obi's clip? I assume Jarace, Nesmith, or Mathurin, since Toppin is ruled out.

** Oh shoot and it turns out TJ can dunk.

some time later...

Before I get ragged on for Nesmith's oh for four performance in like 25 minutes in the Pacers blowout victory over Detroit, let me present my case.

Or as one fan put it: "I’m so effing ready for the “surprised pikachu” faces when we’re rolling in the playoffs."

[Nomad]

It's nice to have Nesmith back and healthy. Paniniouldn't timed it better, with Double A back in the Hoops saddle and let's see if it carries through to Prizm and other issues this year.

Hoops is what it is. I'm not against this image, but it seems very rookie year. As if a continuation of the sequence initiated in '20-21 flux.


Haven't bought one of #11 yet, hard to pay a first mover $7.99 for a /199 and orange to boot. When a wrong jersey /25 orange explosion RC can be had for around the same price.

Flux 20-21: cool, he can take it with one hand to the basket.
Hoops 24-25: yeah, now he can do it with two.


Ascension phase to the basket.

All in all, I like this year's hoops where it matters (the parallels). I even like that jeans price tag-esque Hoops logo at the bottom, it's like they're saying this vital set will continue whatever else happens (and I agree its time for Prizm to hibernate on a long-time-in-a-while winning design note).

If the '23-34 Phoenix auto was a preview of Panini's take on the vet sniper, defensive leader, occasional wicked dunker, smoldering look at the hard-clutch block challenge replay, and clutch free thrower version-of-self, I am a buy.

Today's squeaker against Atlanta was a return classic form. Benn hitting the paint and slacking off on D. 2nd Team Nesmith coming in and taking the reins after an 18 point lead dissipated to one-behind, and closing with a needed 3 and 2 big free throws. Difference from last year is: Pacers have Jarace Walker smiling on the bench.

Biggest complement of game from Quinn Buckner. "Siakam and Nesmith, these are the two that seem to relish having the ball in the big moments."

So stoked for Spicy AS P

[bkcardcollector]

you forgot to cut the bottom off...

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by bkcardcollector

you forgot to cut the bottom off...

The Levi's hold much more value with the original tear-off still connected.

Man I am liking the Dub step rizz of the Shep-Nesmith combo.

[Nomad]

For a moment I realized why Nesmith prefers to be under the radar, still. The fans that gravitate to you when you are a star, half of them just want to be behind the alpha. Take a comment by a Redditor that Aaron should beat some sense into Haliburton after the game.

While I may have the opinion that Double A should be starting and Math and/or Toppin the 6th man energy boost, this is predicated on the idea that the beauty of the Pacers is that they practice accountability, while having everyone basically respect each other and get along. It doesn't matter who is the leader at this point. They have all bought in.

[Nomad]

Interested to see that the Pacers vs. Lakers on Sunday is now being televised on ESPN. Guess it being Donkic's debut and all. I know that Aaron and the entire team came out energized from their time in Paris and, with their resounding performance when it mattered against Wemby & crew (second ESPN televised game) they are now deemed a worthy opponent for marquee matchups.

So, I have been diversifying.

First I got on a Jarace Walker kick. He has been stepping out and I want to have a nice piece for all current Pacers. Noir patches, no auto, just hit me right.


What I imagine a nice Nesmith Noir patch would have looked like. Alas never to be.

Next, I saw this sick Nembhard. Though I do have the rookie Flux moonlight, that is in pickle ball headband mode. Nothing that captures his grittiness. Until this Photogenic plate appeared.



Like the asymmetry of this Turner, couldn't resist.



And then this pair appeared. I guess technically, we have a second '23-24 issue for Nesmith? The '22-23 printing plates pulled from National Treasures.





if I was betting on a postseason Indiana price boost, I would be splitting between Walker, Nesmith, Math, and Nembhard about now. All are gunning to be the de facto alpha in the steps of their aging all star (Haliburton also, yes, but his achievements x5 already priced in).

[Nomad]

People on the Pacers Forum now saying they see a clear path to Lakers taking it all. This based on the caliber of competition Indiana has played and beat recently, and the fact that a Reaves-led LA drubbed Indiana with Lebron and Luka on the bench looking "too cool for school."

Now my theory is that the Pacers should have either traded Mathurin or Nesmith. You're gonna have a little alpha friction, because Nesmith is going to need to start to contain these unacceptable first quarter deficits defensively.

It could be in the place of Mathurin, it could be Nembhard. TBH, it could be anyone but Siakam and it might work out best if Haliburton came off the bench. But could the collectors and sneaker brands take it?

Then again, they say it only really matters who closes these days.

I think what Carlyle could do is cut minutes from whoever's game is off on any given day and give those to Jarace Walker. Also continue to give Furphy some meaningful touches.

Bottom line, we'll be fine, Pacers over LA in 7.


I'm not anti Mathurin by any means. Just picked up this Photogenic Blue Plate.