10:24 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Hawks. Veesaar’s draft rights go to Atlanta in the deal in exchange for the draft rights to No. 57 pick Narcisse Ngoy and cash.
8:56 pm: North Carolina big man Henri Veesaar, viewed as a possible first-round pick entering the draft, has finally come off the board at No. 52. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), the Clippers are trading Veesaar’s draft rights to the Hawks and moving down to No. 57.
The Clippers are acquiring cash in the deal, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic.
Rival teams believed the Lakers were targeting Veesaar with the 56th pick, per Fischer (Twitter link). Atlanta moved up five spots, leapfrogging the Lakers, to nab the Estonian seven-footer after talking to Veesaar’s representatives, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). The Knicks were also interested in Veesaar, Siegel adds (via Twitter).
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports hears teams who considered drafting Veesaar earlier in the second round were informed the 22-year-old center would not sign a two-way contract (Twitter link).
O’Connor compares the situation to when Austin Reaves went undrafted in 2021. Reaves initially signed a two-way contract with the Lakers but was promoted to a standard deal before his rookie season started. The 28-year-old guard reportedly agreed to re-sign with the Lakers on a four-year, maximum-salary contract on Wednesday.
Veesaar was ranked No. 28 on Jeremy Woo’s final big board for ESPN prior to the draft. After spending three years playing a fairly modest role at Arizona, including redshirting as a sophomore, Veesaar had a breakout junior season with the Tar Heels in 2025/26, averaging 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in 31 games as the full-time starting center.
Veesaar was a strong finisher in the paint, converting 67.7% of his 8.0 two-point attempts per game. He also knocked down 42.6% of his 3.0 three-point attempts per contest, though he only made 61.5% of his free throws (3.8 attempts).
The Hawks drafted Houston point guard Kingston Flemings with the No. 8 pick and selected St. John’s forward/center Zuby Ejiofor at No. 23. Veesaar has a chance to be another rotation big man in a frontcourt that also features Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu and Mouhamed Gueye.
