Henri Veesaar's former coach: Player faces step-by-step NBA test

The former coach of Estonian basketball star Henri Veesaar says the player must first prove himself defensively as he adjusts to a completely different NBA role.

The 22-year-old, 213-centimeter-tall center was picked by the Atlanta Hawks in the 52nd overall selection of the draft's second round last week, making him the second Estonian after Martin Müürsepp – who in the 1990s played for the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks – to make it to the pinnacle of the sport in the U.S.

Veesaar was, ESPN reported, initially picked by the Los Angeles Clippers, then traded to the Hawks. Rauno Pehka, a former coach of Veesaar's, said the Clippers' cross-town rivals the Lakers, as well as the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies, had also shown strong interest in the Estonian.

Pehka was in the U.S. for the draft at the request of Veesaar's family and tasked with ensuring "Henri stayed emotionally balanced as his hopes rose and fell, and that he didn't get overwhelmed by negative emotions," he told ERR radio show "R2 Hommik!"

"We knew his chances would really begin after the 20th pick. It later became clear that this draft featured plenty of surprises. We just had to get through them and prepare for the next day [the second round]. In the end, everything worked out well," Pehka added.

For Henri, things didn't go according to plan because there were nine players ranked among the top 30 who played the power forward and centre positions and were essentially viewed as being in the same group. Atlanta selected one of those players with the 23rd pick even though he had been ranked behind Henri, and another player from that group also came off the board.

The Los Angeles Lakers really wanted Henri, but because there was still one player available who had been ranked much higher than him, they took that player instead and hoped to draft Henri in the second round. Throughout the second round, the focus was on securing Henri a guaranteed contract.

In the end, only three second-round picks received one. Normally, second-round players sign two-way contracts, which essentially put them on a G League team's payroll. Henri has a guaranteed contract with an NBA roster, although young players still end up playing in the G League regardless," Pehka added.

The G-League is the NBA's second-tier affiliate series; Veesaar's compatriot Henri Drell played in the G-League 2024-2025.

Part of the reason for Veesaar's selection coming relatively late in the second round was a refusal by his agents to accept a two-way contract, even though such an arrangement is the standard deal fo