The Los Angeles Lakers are set to add guard Kobe Bufkin on a two-year contract that carries a team option for the second season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Bufkin, 22, earned the opportunity after excelling with the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League and spending time on a 10-day contract with Los Angeles in January. During that brief NBA stint, he appeared in four games and averaged 3.0 points across 11 minutes per outing.
The former first-round pick also signed a 10-day hardship deal with the Memphis Grizzlies in late November but did not see game action.
Selected 15th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2023 draft, Bufkin played 27 games over two seasons before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets last September. Brooklyn waived him before the 2025-26 campaign began, leading him back to the G League, where he has averaged 27.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 14 regular-season games.
Once the contract becomes official, Bufkin will fill the Lakers’ 15th and final standard roster spot. As noted by Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, any additional moves on the buyout market would require Los Angeles to waive a player with guaranteed money.
Source: Hoops Rumors
