Did Henri Veesaar Make The Right Decision To Stay In The Nba Draft?

Only Henri knows the answer to that for sure. When a kid from Estonia grows up dreaming of being in the NBA, that decision goes well beyond simple salary math. Veesaar recently married, and after three years of college life, a desire for a change in lifestyle would be completely understandable. The NBA draft values potential more than anything else, and a player’s age plays a role in those calculations. Henri turned 22 in March, and a 23 year old Veesaar is slightly less valuable than a 22 year old Veesaar, all other things being equal. Veesaar had these and other reasons to go, all totally valid. Godspeed, Henri. Knock ’em dead.

UNC has three players on next season’s roster in the conversation for next year’s first round: Nikolas Avdalas, Seyon Keita, and Matt Able. Given that, Henri’s decision seems worthy of discussion. UNC fans will likely be crossing this bridge with one or more players at the end of every season, who will be faced with the same sorts of risks, opportunities, and options. What did Henri leave behind?

Start with this: the decision in the short term likely cost Veesaar a significant amount of money. If it seems odd to contemplate a player taking a pay cut to move to the NBA, welcome to college basketball in 2026. UNC was reported to have offered Veesaar something around $5 million to return to UNC for one more season. With the change in eligibility rules announced this week, Veesaar actually had two more years of college eligibility remaining. Let’s pretend Veesaar opts for two more years of college ball rather than the NBA, and let’s assume he remains healthy. Those two years would net Veesaar — or someone like him — at least $10 million.

Compare that to the players selected at the top of the second round in 2025.

• Rasheer Fleming, pick #31 in 2025: $8.7m for four years ($5.9m guaranteed)
• Noah Fleming, pick #32 in 2025: $8.6m for four years ($2.4m guaranteed)
• Sion James, pick #33 in 2025: $10m for four years ($4.7m guaranteed)