The Hawks have signed second-round pick Henri Veesaar to a four-year contract worth roughly $9.3MM in total, per Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The deal was completed using the second-round pick exception and is worth Veesaar’s minimum salary.
Projected by many draft experts as a late first-round pick, Veesaar fell all the way to No. 52 last Wednesday, where the Hawks traded up from No. 57 to snag him. According to various reports during the second round, there were other teams interested in the former UNC big man, but his representatives were steering him to a club willing to give him a standard contract and a spot on its 15-man roster.
In addition to getting that standard deal he sought, the 22-year-old will also have the first two years of his deal guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. The third is non-guaranteed, while the fourth year will be a team option.
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 team’s 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).
He joins a Hawks frontcourt that also features Onyeka Okongwu, Jock Landale, Mouhamed Gueye, Asa Newell, and fellow 2026 draftee Zuby Ejiofor.