The Los Angeles Lakers had one open roster spot after the Feb. 5 trade deadline, and a few interesting names were available on the buyout market for them. There was much speculation about what the Lakers would do, and they ultimately decided against bringing any of them in and opted to go in-house by signing Kobe Bufkin.
The Bufkin signing did raise some eyebrows, and head coach JJ Redick spoke about why they went this route in his press conference before Monday’s clash with the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena.
“I mean, there are a lot of factors that go into that,” Redick said. “The buyout market, I’ll just be frank, because I did this when I was working in media, it very, very rarely produces a player that impacts a team’s playoff chances. It just very rarely does. The second part of that is you got to make sure the guy’s, if you’re going to get a buyout player, you got to make sure that guy’s healthy, that guy’s ready to play.
“Kobe has certainly earned a spot in the NBA with the way he’s played this year for us in South Bay,” Redick continued. “There’s also factors of are we going to be able to keep him in our program? So there’s a lot that went into it. We feel really happy that we got him on the roster spot.”
Bufkin was putting on quite a show for the South Bay Lakers in the G League. The 22-year-old averaged 27.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in the regular season.
Bufkin’s exploits had previously led to the Lakers signing him to a 10-day contract on Jan. 13. He didn’t get much of an opportunity to impress during that brief spell, however, and put up just 3.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game.
You wondered whether Bufkin would get another shot, and he has now. The Lakers have given him a two-year deal with a team option for the 2026-27 season. It will be interesting to see how big a role Redick gives him for the rest of this season. The 41-year-old praised Bufkin here and pointed out how South Bay head coach Zach Guthrie has helped in the guard’s development.
“I think the thing that Zach has really challenged him on this year that he’s gotten better on is just his defensive activity and engagement,” Redick said. I think he’s got the positional size to be a plus defender and obviously his ability to shoot the ball consistently, particularly on our team, would provide great value.”
The Lakers certainly do need shooters and defenders. They looked to address their shooting woes by acquiring Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks at the deadline, and he has shot 50.0% from beyond the arc in his first two games.
Bufkin, whom the Hawks had selected with the 15th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, shot 43.1% from three for South Bay, and it will be interesting to see if he is able to keep that up. He had gone just 28.6% from deep in those four games he played when he was on that 10-day contract.
Bufkin, though, is more focused on making sure his defense translates.
“That’s the most important thing,” Bufkin said, via PurpGold on X. “Especially now in the position that I’m in. South Bay, it was a great experience. But with Luka [Doncic], Austin [Reaves], and [LeBron James], I’m probably not gonna get as many touches as I want to. But I can for sure affect the defensive end. Translating that over is going to be important.”
If Bufkin doesn’t make the kind of impact the Lakers seem to believe he can, then some questions will be asked as to why they didn’t go for a bigger name. They were said to be interested in Cam Thomas and Haywood Highsmith, and the latter would have been a fine acquisition.
Highsmith is a proven 3-and-D wing, but he is still recovering from a torn meniscus. Perhaps that was what ultimately scared the Lakers away. They have been burned enough in recent years by injuries.
As for this game against the Thunder, the Lakers ended up losing 119-110. They have dropped to 32-20 on the season and will take on the San Antonio Spurs next at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday at 10:30 PM ET.
