Once again, we're all waiting on pins and needles to see what UNC standout Henri Veesaar decides to do for next season. There are (hopefully) only two options on the table for him: either Veesaar returns to North Carolina, or he says goodbye and enters the NBA Draft instead.
Yes, he could break hearts and enter the transfer portal at the last second, but we don't see that happening. Assuming he's down to those two options, Veesaar has once again been reminded that returning to Chapel Hill for one more year is probably in his best interest.
That's because Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor just came out with a new NBA Mock Draft, and Veesaar is slated to fall to the second round. In this particular one from O'Connor, Veesaar will have to wait until pick No. 36 by the LA Clippers to see his name get taken off the board.
Henri Veesaar continues to be projected as a second-round pick in NBA Mock Drafts
"Veesaar is an agile big with real shooting touch, connective playmaking, and baseline big skills with the ability to set screens and catch lobs," O'Connor wrote in his piece. "He also offers rim protection and is a locked-in help defender. Brook Lopez won’t start forever, so the Clippers need to make more investments in the future."
This is really going to come down to how important being a first-rounder is for the Carolina standout. If he does make his way to the Clippers, as O'Connor noted, he could learn from Brook Lopez and then eventually take over the starting role sooner rather than later. Not a bad deal, right?
On the other hand, he could play one more season for UNC, land a pretty sweet NIL deal that will still have him making great money, learn from Malone AND boost his draft stock all at the same time. You know what, that seems like a pretty sweet setup too.
From the moment Michael Malone was hired, it has no question been a top priority for him to keep Veesaar on campus. UNC has landed the pledge of Virginia Tech transfer Neoklis Avdalas, but we're still waiting to see what's going to happen with Juke Harris, Terrence Brown and others. Retaining Veesaar could help UNC sell to portal targets that the program is all-in on making next season a year to remember. What will Veesaar ultimately decide? We can't wait to find out.
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