Welcome to the NBA Henri Veesaar. With the 52nd pick in the second round, the Atlanta Hawks selected the former Tar Heel center and starting his NBA career. So what does Veesaar bring to the NBA?
In today’s NBA there is nothing more valuable than a stretch four and despite playing the five at North Carolina, Veesaar should fit in great in that role. Not only does he bring the obvious size, but he also brings the three point shooting to help stretch the floor and create space for driving guards and big men with less range. Additionally, Veesaar knows how to use his size on defense getting rebounds and blocks. Finally, Veesaar is also a good passer after averaging over two assists per game last season for the Tar Heels.
There are two main areas that Veesaar is going to need to improve on. The first is adding weight. Despite being seven feet tall, Veesaar is not very big at a slim 225 lbs. The smaller frame will make him susceptible to injury when going up against much bigger post players in the NBA. Luckily for him, that is something that can be quickly remedied by just being drafted and getting into a full professional strength and conditioning program.
Secondly, he needs to work on his free throw shooting. Veesaar’s free throw shooting percentage of 61.5% was the tenth worst on the Tar Heels this past season and something that other NBA teams will take advantage of which in turn will limit his minutes. This is probably one of the more disturbing aspects of his game as his percentage has dropped every season in college as his attempts per game went up as well.
If he can get these areas fixed he should be able to provide some minutes for his new team this season.
