Today it was announced that Henri Veesaar is officially going into the NBA Draft. Per Matt Norlander, Veesaar intends to stay in the draft, with no intent to return to UNC.
When Veesaar transferred to UNC last spring, observers saw the potential for a break-out season. Coming off the bench for Tommy Lloyd in Tucson, Veesaar played 21 minutes a game, logging nine points and five boards a game on 60% shooting, 33% from three. Paired with Caleb Wilson in the UNC frontcourt, Veesaar’s performance exploded, recording 17 points a game with 9 boards and shooting an absurd 43% from behind the line. The season put Veesaar firmly into the discussion for the NBA draft and lower third of the first round. Concerns about Henri’s stamina and physicality widened the range of draft projections into the second round.
UNC fans have been hoping Veesaar would return to UNC for a lot of money and the opportunity to play his way into a much better draft selection. The opportunity to learn from Coach Malone, who developed the NBA’s best center in Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, seemed a huge appeal for the big Estonian as well. At 22, Veesaar faced a huge decision: roll the dice on the dream of being a 1st round NBA pick now or defer that dream for another season.
The crazy state of college NIL complicated matters. NBA picks through 40 last year received two years of guaranteed money, with team options for years three and four. Just in terms of compensation for next season, however, a college player like Veesaar can earn twice as much as a first round pick in the range 20-30. Veesaar could in college earn four times as much Micah Peavy, 40th pick in 2025, earned in his first NBA season. Two guaranteed seasons, however, provides real opportunity to put down roots in the league and start the clock towards a potentially lucrative second NBA deal.
Finally, recent decisions by other college big men altered the calculus on what has been the conventional wisdom that the 2027 draft would be much weaker and a better option for Veesaar. Braylon Mullins, Alex Condon, and Patrick Ngonba, three centers ranked higher than Veesaar, opted to return to college. That simultaneously weakens the 2026 draft relative to centers but likely strengthens 2027.
Money and development pointed towards UNC. The dream pointed to the NBA.
With Veesaar opting to declare for the NBA, UNC likely moves on to find another starting center. The reporting around staff thinking on this has been that UNC can’t afford to wait another month to see whether Veesaar stays in the draft or opts out at the last minute.
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