The Lakers, after the Cameron Carr steal in the first round, had everything lined up for the second round. In fact, they appeared to have found the answer to their biggest offseason problem. However, minutes later, the solution slipped and drained down the kitchen sink. It left the second round of the Draft night into an unexpected nightmare for Rob Pelinka and the LA side.

Heading into Day 2, Lakers reporter Anthony Irwin suggested that the team had made a pre-draft promise to North Carolina center Henri Veesar. Without a second-round selection of their own, the LA side acquired the N0. 56 from the Bulls. A move that was widely viewed as a scream to land the Estonian big man.

Everything seemed to be in place.

Veesaar, projected by many as a late first-round prospect, unexpectedly slipped down the draft board. With every passing pick, optimism among Lakers fans only grew. A 6’11 big man with elite tools, falling right into their lap, it felt like the kind of draft-night fortune that defines front offices.

Then came the twist in the tale.

Veesaar’s camp, according to NBA insider Brett Siegel, had been steering his destination toward Atlanta all along. Realizing the plan was no longer a secret, the Hawks moved aggressively – acquiring the No. 52 selection from the Clippers to leapfrog the Lakers’ No. 56.

The Clippers officially selected Veesaar and instantly traded his rights to Atlanta in exchange for the No. 57 pick and cash considerations. Four picks. That was the margin between the Lakers landing their man and watching him go elsewhere. Within minutes, what could have been the biggest steal of their draft vanished.

The appeal was obvious. The North Carolina standout averaged 17.1 points and 8.7 rebounds last season while shooting 60.8% from the field. More critically, he knocked down 42.6% of his three-point attempts on 94 tries, a rare skill for a big man that directly addresses the Lakers’ chronic floor-spacing problem up front.

For Atlanta, Veesaar fills a different gap- the Hawks are rebuilding around a young core and needed a versatile, stretch-capable big who can grow with their timeline. He solves a problem for both teams- but only one of them got him.

For the Lakers, with the heavy lifting of finding a starting big man for the third straight season, Veesaar is gold. If not a starter, he could be a rotational big, and landing him at No. 56 pick would have been a master stroke.

And that distinction matters. Reports indicated Veesaar’s camp preferred Atlanta as his destination.

Even had the Lakers moved up the draft ladder, there is no guarantee he would have ended up in purple and gold. But front offices don’t get credit for uncontrollable variables- they get judged on outcomes. And the outcome here was a publicly telegraphed plan that a rival team exploited.

This immediately sparked a social media uproar, with frustrated fans directing their anger toward Rob Pelinka.

When a team’s pre-draft commitment to a prospect becomes public knowledge before the pick is made, the leverage shifts. The Hawks used it.

Lakers fans split over Rob Pelinka after Henri Veesaar slips away

The response on social media ranged from frustrated to scathing and it landed squarely on Pelinka.

“We all know how this is gonna end. Luka is leave the lakers to go back to the mavs. We did it to ourselves to let Rob continue to run this team,” one fan wrote, blaming Pelinka for the slip. 

Another zeroed in on the draft strategy itself:

“Smh we took a 6’3 guard…. WTF MAN fire Pelinka. We need a center and he took 2 guards. Carr is cool, but still Wtf,” the fan posted. 

The criticism continued. One supporter wrote simply that Pelinka “had one job,” while another questioned why the Lakers failed to move up a few spots, as the Hawks did, despite identifying Veesaar as the clear priority.

Others were even more direct. 

“Clips f*cked Pelinka,” one fan posted, mocking the Lakers executive. The LA Clippers, the supposed LA rival, helped the Hawks’ move to Veesaar.

Another fan expressed their frustration over how things eventually turned out. 

“Rob Pelinka, thank you so much for wasting our time.” After news broke that the Lakers ultimately moved the No. 56 pick to the Mavericks for cash considerations, leaving them with nothing to show from the second round.

It is a pointed irony for a front office with genuine wins on its resume. Pelinka engineered the Anthony Davis trade, the Luka Doncic deal, and found value in Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard, and Austin Reaves. He has shown the ability to acquire talent through multiple avenues.

What has eluded him is solving the frontcourt- and on a night when the solution was in sight, a four-pick gap and an agent’s preference took it away.

Whether Veesaar becomes the player many projected is still to be seen. But the drama surrounding his selection has done something unavoidable: it put Pelinka’s draft-night execution back under the microscope, at a position the Lakers still don’t have an answer for.