The NBA's official summer league season has tipped off in Las Vegas after a riveting week of regional action.
As always, this is the time for upcoming prospects to prove themselves to their front offices, and while that's a consensus goal for every player in participation, Hawks' second-round pick, Henri Veesaar, has additional motivating factors.
After spending three seasons at Arizona, Veesaar transferred to North Carolina, where he almost immediately broke out as one of the premier bigs in college basketball. Entering into his final season of eligibility, Veesaar reportedly turned down a deal from UNC worth over $5 million to return for his senior season in favor of the NBA Draft.
Once projected as a late first-round talent, Veesaar shockingly dropped all the way down to end of the second round, where Atlanta took him with the 52nd-overall pick.
Now entering into his rookie season, Veesaar projects to earn roughly $1.3 million, a stark contrast from what he left on the table at UNC. Among Veesaar's 4-year, $9.2 million contract, only around $3 million of that deal is guaranteed, still a hefty discount from what he would've been earning.
Veesaar elected to bet on himself
It's clear that his mentality now is to prove to himself that he made the right choice amidst his steep draft slide.
In his first two games of action in the Salt Lake City Summer League, Veesaar showed a lot of promise. After only two points in his first outing, Veesaar quickly picked up his slack in the later games, scoring 11 points, five rebounds and four assists in his last game against the Grizzlies.
With four turnovers committed in that game too, however, it's clear that Veesaar's game still has critiques to make. Still, this is a promising debut for the flyer that Atlanta took at #52, but they'll need to see this at a more consistent level to warrant him a roster spot.
It wasn't even three months ago when we watched the Hawks' frontcourt get embarrassed by the New York Knicks in the playoffs, and the goal is for Henri Veesaar to eventually fill that role moving forward.
In order for Veesaar to guarantee himself a larger chunk out of his $9.2 million contract, he'll need to show some consistency in Las Vegas over the next week or so. This means consistent rim protection, lower turnover rates, and adequate floor stretching.
For Veesaar, every possession will be an opportunity to pay off his gamble, and we've seen that he hasn't shied away from betting on himself in the past.
After three underwhelming seasons at Arizona, including one redshirt season, Veesaar took a big risk by transferring to the powerhouse that is UNC basketball.
Even in the midst of a competitive roster and position battles, he was still able to carve out a large role for himself, eventually breaking out in his junior season, averaging 17 points per game in his lone year with the Tar Heels.
Veesaar is no stranger to the pressure, nor is he a stranger to carving out a path for himself, even when it seems like no path for him is feasible.
The last ten picks of the NBA Draft have historically been some of the most overlooked players in the league's history, and that's the exact same doubt that has fueled Henri Veesaar to overcome his tremendous odds, time and time again.
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