Atlanta Hawks Rookie Henri Veesaar Out for the Season: Why It Matters and What Comes Next

Some unfortunate news hit the Atlanta Hawks today.

Rookie center Henri Veesaar is going to miss the 2026-2027 season with a torn ACL that he suffered in a workout on Sept. 15th. Veesaar, the No. 52 pick in this year's draft, was going to compete to be the Hawks' third center behind Onyeka Okongwu and Jock Landale, but he was likely going to spend much of the season in the G League with the College Park Skyhawks. Veesaar flashed his talent during Summer League, especially as a shooter, but he is not going to be able to play during his rookie season due to an injury.

An @emoryhealthcare injury update:

During a workout on Sept. 15, Henri Veesaar sustained a right knee injury. Following an MRI and evaluation at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, he was diagnosed with a torn right ACL.

Veesaar will undergo surgery with Dr. Kyle Hammond at the… pic.twitter.com/fxVePjEiNF
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) September 21, 2026

Veesaar saw action in 31 games (all starts) last season at North Carolina, averaging 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 31.4 minutes of play. He was named to the 2025-26 All-ACC Second Team, and Veesaar ranked eighth in the ACC in scoring, fourth in rebounding, and second in field goal percentage.

So what does this mean for the Hawks?

Analyzing the situation

While I don't think Veesaar was actually going to play much this season for the Hawks, losing a year of development is never a good thing. The Hawks love his long-term potential as a center and he can still eventually become a player for the Hawks, but this is a small step back and hopefull for his sake, he can have a healthy recovery and be ready to go during the 2027-2028 season.

This is the second piece of bad injury news for the Hawks this offseason. Back in July, it was announced that forward Mouhamed Gueye suffered a foot injury and he would not be reevaluated for 3-4 months, meaning he is likely to miss training camp and the preseason.

While Atlanta is in a roster crunch, I don't think it would make much sense for the Hawks to move on from Veesaar. His contract is guaranteed for the season and he is a talented young player. While losing a year of development is a short term loss, Atlanta should still bet on his long-term talent.

So what will the Hawks do for a third center?

First thing, Atlanta hopes that Okongwu and Landale stay healthy and eat up the minutes at center, but last season showed that you have to have options behind the top two and Atlanta really missed Landale in the playoffs. If everything goes according to plan, those two will play each and every night for Atlanta, but hardly anything goes to plan over the course of an 82-game season.

The options on the roster for the Hawks come down to some young players. Gueye was the Hawks' backup center during the postseason series against the Knicks, but that is not the role they want him in, and they don't view him as a center. Not only that, but Gueye is a potential cut candidate with the Hawks still at 16 players, one more than the regular-season roster limit.

Zuby Ejiofor, who the Hawks selected with the No. 23 overall pick in this year's draft, is a bit undersized, but he can play the four and the five and was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year last season for Saint Johns. He could be the third center for Atlanta, or it could be 2025 first-round pick Asa Newell, though like Gueye, the Hawks don't view him as a center and his defensive issues make that less likely of an option. If Atlanta goes with an in-house option, I would assume it would be Ejiofor.

Another option is for the Hawks to release one of their current two-way players (Jalen Wilson, RayJ Dennis, and Keshon Gilbert) and sign a center at that spot. Who that could be is up in the air, but the Hawks could do that to have another big body on the roster. They had Christian Koloko on a two-way last season and he played a role with Krisptaps Porzingis out.

But the Hawks could also look outside for options. I mentioned the roster crunch earlier, and Atlanta still needs to move one more player to get to the regular-season limit. Last night, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Hawks have discussed a Buddy Hield for Dorian Finney-Smith swap, and Finney-Smith has experience as a small-ball center. It might not be ideal, but if that trade went down, the Hawks would have someone who has experience in that role and, over the course of his career, has been able to hit shots, though he had an injury-filled 2025-2026 season with Houston, which led to him being traded to Charlotte.

Atlanta could also look to trade for a more traditional center with size and length

This is devestating news for Veesaar and he won't get a chance to show why he was considered a first-round talent by some this season. Atlanta has to move forward and figure out their depth ahead of training camp, which includes a wide array of options, from finding a two-way center, to trading for someone, to relying on the players on the roster. Atlanta has to hope that Okongwu and Landale stay healthy, but they should know better than any team that that does not always work out.

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