In an attention economy that rewards instant reactions, Henri’s remarkable slide down NBA draft board became one of the hottest social media content generators to come out of the two rounds. A projected late first round pick, a number of factors coincided to see 51 players selected ahead of the Estonian big man. Condemnation came fast. A sampling includes the following:
A few days ago, this blog looked at those issues and the potential fall-out for Henri. While the CBA between the NFL and its players’ union specifies salary slots through the entirety of the draft, the NBA’s CBA allows teams much more latitude with second round picks. The article noted the likelihood that Veesaar and his agent still secured a deal with some guaranteed years in the range of $2+ million or more, but that wouldn’t be known until the contracts details were released.
Well, those details are now public:
The details of that contract are even better. It appears Veesaar receives three guaranteed years totaling more than $6.3 million. That’s a firm footing in the NBA and reflects a commitment by the Hawks to develop Veesaar over years versus throwing him into the fire in season one and seeing if he sticks. The money’s objectively fantastic for a 22-year-old. It’s exactly what Veesaar wanted when he decided to stay in the draft, a worst-case scenario that’s still pretty great.
Veesaar had this to say about his decision at the combine, before the two-round roller coaster put a national spotlight on him:
“Obviously, it’s tempting,” Veesaar said during the NBA combine this summer. “Like, there’s a lot of money being thrown around in college. It’s another year of going to school, being able to get ready for the NBA, but honestly getting thrown into the fire is the best way to learn. I had that as a freshman in college. I feel like I had the same one as going to Real Madrid when I was 15. You kind of get thrown in the practice with players that are older than you, better than you, more experienced than you. So you learn a lot quicker.”
As a basketball decision, Henri used what he knew of himself and what his agent knew of team interest to make a decision that turned out well for him. Yes, in the short-term, the financial difference seems notable. $1.4 million is much less than $5 million, making the first year shortfall north of $3 million. College basketball was willing to pay a player the NBA values as one of the 35 best coming into the league more than three times that much for a single year of service.
That says more about where college basketball is these days than Veesaar’s decision. Next season probably will have another Tar Heel or two evaluating similar decisions. The college game will offer more immediate money, while the NBA game offers the ultimate validation as well as long-term financial potential. A different player may weigh priorities differently, but it certainly ended well for Veesaar. Good outcomes for UNC players can only help the program moving forward.
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