After selecting a three-point guard in the first round back in June, the Nets have added another first-round guard as of Monday.
They traded cash considerations to Atlanta for Kobe Bufkin, who was the 15th overall selection in the 2023 draft, a move that was reported in a recent post.
Brooklyn, which transferred $110,000 to the Hawks for every Hoopsype, was one of the few teams that could absorb Bufkin into their cap space smoothly.
This season, he will earn $4.5 million and will need to prove himself for a $6.9 million team option for the 2026-27 season by October 31st.
General Manager Sean Marks focused on leveraging the team’s league-high cap space over the offseason to acquire draft picks by taking on financial burdens.
This time, he aimed to secure a young player who had lost some value.
The Hawks were looking for flexibility in their roster, and Bufkin likely needed a new start.
At just 21, he was overshadowed in Atlanta by All-Star Trae Young and also struggled with injuries, limiting him to only 27 appearances in his first two NBA seasons.
Now, he joins a Brooklyn squad that appears to have too many guards on paper but may not have enough in reality.
The Nets just drafted smooth-passing Egor Denin in the lottery and later picked up French player Nolan Traore and Israeli Ben Saraf in the first round.
It’s all about point guards, with Cam Thomas currently starting as the shooting guard.
However, all three leading guards are rookies, and Thomas’s future seems uncertain after not securing a long-term contract and choosing to play this season on a qualifying offer.
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Bufkin played primarily as an off-guard, but he struggled with a shooting percentage of just 0.22% from beyond the arc and had difficulty adapting to his role as Young’s backup.
After undergoing shoulder surgery in January, which cut his season short, Bufkin was cleared to play in the Summer League, where he excelled as one of Vegas’s standout players.
He showcased his skills in pick-and-roll scenarios, averaging 19.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, impressively shooting 96.4% from the free-throw line.
There’s some hope that his three-point shooting will improve.
That said, the trade does raise questions: Can Bufkin emerge as a consistent shooter? Will he be able to stay healthy?
