It's hard to put into words what has happened to UNC star Henri Veesaar. After not going in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, there was buzz that maybe, just maybe he'd go with the first pick of the second round to the New York Knicks. That did not happen, and Veesaar continued to fall even further down the board.
The fact that Felix Okpara was taken over him even left us speechless. Per an anonymous coach, apparently Veesaar would have made around $5.5 million had he returned to college next season. Despite that, his agent still told him to take a gamble and stay in the draft instead? Sorry, but said agent gave him terrible advice and it has come back to haunt his client.
One college coach to me on Veesaar:
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 24, 2026
“He would have made a minimum of 5.5 million this season in college.” https://t.co/tkAlZ5KD85
Henri Veesaar has his agent to blame after wild NBA Draft fall, and losing millions
Per multiple reports, North Carolina was ready to put around $4 million on the table for Veesaar to return to the college game for one more season. Had the Arizona transfer suited up for Michael Malone, the veteran coach would have been ready to help take his game to the next level. Instead, Veesaar decided to keep his name in the draft, with the belief that he'd be a first-rounder.
He got some pretty bad advice, and we're going to go ahead and assume it was his agent who was feeding him some pretty inaccurate information throughout this whole process. There's simply no defending the decision to leave for the pros now. Veesaar could have taken his game to the next level under Malone, with Sean May working overtime in helping him improve down low for one more season too.
Wasserman (now called TEAM) agent Jason Ranne's decision to keep Henri Veesaar in the NBA Draft is looking worse and worse every pick.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 25, 2026
Eventually he'll have the chance to let his game do the talking at the next level, but turning down roughly $5.5 million is now something he's got to be regretting tremendously. Also, this was a draft slide that we're going to be shocked about for months. There was simply no way we would have ever assumed this was going to be the outcome for him.
You've also got to feel bad for Veesaar, as he's got to be left stunned too. He's obviously going to play with a chip on his shoulder moving forward, ready to prove all of the doubters wrong. At the same time, his questionable decision has cost him big time, and it's one that Carolina fans are going to keep shaking their heads about this offseason. As for his agent? Be better next time, dude.
UPDATE: Henri Veesaar's NBA Draft nightmare finally ended, with him going No. 52 overall to the Hawks.
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