The Tar Heels officially lost their big man to the NBA Draft. Does Veesaar fit what Brooklyn wants?
The Brooklyn Nets have a North Carolina talent to look at ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft.
But not limited to Caleb Wilson, even though he's earned mentioned as a Nets possibility.
NetsRoundtable continues to sort through potential draft prospects. Names like Cameron Boozer of Duke, Darius Acuff of Arkansas, Kingston Flemings of Houston, plus Keaton Wagler of Illinois have surfaced as Brooklyn prospects.
Then there are late round possibilities too like Zuby Ejiofor of St. John's, or Tarris Reed of UConn.
But once again we swing back to UNC, this time to breakdown Henri Veesaar who just entered the '26 draft waters.
Prototypical Big Man
Teams already will fawn over his frame: 7-feet, 225-pounds.
He unleashes his size well in the paint.
Veesaar stays composed and controlled when heavily guarded down low. He still finished in aggressive fashion, though, by taking advantage of the opening in the paint. Veesaar rises as a screen finisher capable of taking advantage of the lane created.
But Veesaar rises as a second chance scoring option too. He's physical enough to push off defenders and dunk over them.
Veesaar controls the paint at a high level. And pulled it off while sharing the court with Wilson and other blue chip recruits.
Defensive Presence
Here's where Veesaar's stock can rise.
Veesaar is a patient defender who doesn't get antsy or mistime his jumps when defending the rim. Even when he looks out of position, Veesaar shows a high-effort to attempt the final blocked shot.
He handed UNC a strong rim protector, further emboldening his status as a prototypical big man.
Post Distributor
Flipping back to offense, this skillset will win over coaches and teams seeking a passing big man.
Veesaar improved his vision and passing in the paint this past season. He rose as one of the nation's best big man passers.
This makes him a valuable pick-and-roll or even alley-oop option as a facilitator.
Areas of Concern
It's actually not 3-point shooting.
Veesaar rarely takes perimeter attempts. But he's quite accurate when he shoots from behind the arc.
He can get into foul trouble, though, which is common for big options.
Furthermore, he's not the quickest when it comes to blow bys. Veesaar relied more on screen spacing and trusting his height to shoot over opponents. He's not the slippery kind when it comes to heading to the rim.
Are the Nets a fit?
Head coach Jordi Fernandez must love his passing, defense and even rare long range shooting touch.
Veesaar looks more like a depth piece to start. He should form a nice tandem with Danny Wolf plus Nic Claxton.
Brooklyn likely will need Veesaar more as a down low distributor and rim defender. The key becomes if Veesaar falls to the second round. He could go as high as No. 16.
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