The Sacramento Kings don't need a lot of help at the five. Between Domantas Sabonis, Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell, and Precious Achiuwa, the center position is on lock. Still, rumors indicate that the Kings are considering Henri Veesaar as a second-round pick, which might not be the call.
After the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, the Kings ended up with the seventh pick in the first round of the upcoming draft. It was not as high in the draft order as some may have wanted. Regardless, Sacramento still has a top ten pick in an absolutely stacked draft class and great options.
While the most recent mock draft from FanSided is sticking with the great choice of Darius Acuff Jr., there are others who are pushing for the Kings to go with Yaxel Lendeborg. By "others," I mainly mean me. So far, no one else seems to be on the Lendeborg to Sacramento train.
That's not what this is about. No, the show is really going to get started in the second round. Currently, the Kings have two picks, number 34 and number 45. The talent depth in this draft runs almost all the way through the second round, meaning these picks are also huge for Sacramento.
Some sleepers should stay in bed, just not in Sacramento
In his post-lottery mock draft, Jonathan Wasserman of the Bleacher Report projected that the Kings would use that number 34 pick to select Henri Veesaar. The seven-foot Estonian center made waves as a Tar Heel, and could be incredibly useful in a league with a dominant Victor Wembanyama.
Veesaar is a major lob threat, not to mention an impressive three-point shooter with a solid mid-range game. His mobility is great on top of a growing basketball IQ. It also doesn't hurt that he reads the floor well, allowing him to make smart, timely passes. He's definitely got upsides.
Unfortunately, the downsides are even more pronounced. He lacks the physicality to be a rim protector and rebounder, two of the main reasons a team drafts a guy of Veesaar's size. Even worse, he's a terrible free-throw shooter, so opponents will just keep sending him to the line.
As much as he brings to the table, Veesaar remains an incomplete player with major holes in his game. The Kings already have better big men than him, and shouldn't waste any of their draft picks on Veesaar. There are far better second-round options for Sacramento to choose from this year.
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