The Atlanta Hawks had two first round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft at No. 8 which they used on Houston guard Kingston Flemings, and at No. 23 which they used on St. John’s big man Zuby Ejiofor. The Hawks then moved up into the second round of the draft, acquiring the No. 52 pick from the LA Clippers in a trade so they could draft Henri Veesaar from North Carolina.
Henri Veesaar was projected as a first round talent, possibly even a lottery talent coming into the NBA Draft, potentially giving the Hawks a second round steal. Veesaar’s representatives were reportedly steering him towards the Hawks to avoid him being selected by either the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel.
Veesaar gives the Hawks some needed size in the frontcourt, and the question now coming into summer league is what kind of a contract they will agree upon. He is a worthy of a standard contract but the Hawks could opt to sign him to a two-way contract if that’s something he and his representation is willing to do.
Veesaar spent four seasons in college basketball, but only played three of those years as he redshirted his sophomore season due to an elbow injury. He played his final season of college basketball at North Carolina after transferring from Arizona.
The 3-point shooting big man played in 31 games last season with the Tar Heels at a little over 31 minutes per game. He averaged a career-best 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocked shots with splits of 60.8 percent shooting from the field, 42.6 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 61.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The post Hawks end Henri Veesaar’s NBA Draft slide at pick No. 52 appeared first on ClutchPoints.
