A training injury wipes out the season
Atlanta announced on Monday that Henri Veesaar has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The injury happened on September 15 during an individual workout.
Surgery is set for October. The Hawks are not expecting to see their center on an NBA floor this season. Veesaar will therefore miss the whole of 2026-27, his rookie year.
The player is 22. He stands 7 feet tall. He has yet to play a single minute in the regular season.
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A draft pick that arrived via a trade
Veesaar was taken with the 52nd pick in last June’s draft. By the Clippers, not Atlanta. The Hawks got him that same night in exchange for the 57th pick, Narcisse Ngoy, and cash considerations.
His college path explained the appeal. Two seasons at Arizona, then a 2025-26 year at North Carolina that pushed him into a different bracket. With the Tar Heels, he averaged 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocks per game across 31 outings. That return earned him a place on the All-ACC second team.
Atlanta were banking on a center who could bring some real size and production inside from day one. That plan is now pushed back by a year.
Atlanta followed it up by adding a shooter
That same Monday, the Hawks signed guard Issac McKneely. Undrafted, he had played seven games for Atlanta’s Summer League team.
McKneely is a long-range shooter. His college record says it all: 329 made three-pointers at 41.4 percent across his career. He spent three seasons at Virginia from 2022 to 2025, then one at Louisville in 2025-26. Across 133 games, he is averaging 11.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. His final year with the Cardinals ended at 10.9 points and 3.0 rebounds a night.
Whether McKneely sticks on the roster past training camp is a separate question entirely.
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