The Atlanta Hawks are trading Kobe Bufkin to the Brooklyn Nets for cash considerations the teams announced. Bufkin, who was Atlanta’s 1st round pick in 2023 (15th overall), was due $5.4M this season and had a $6.9M team option in 2026-27.
Over the last two seasons, the 21 year old appeared in just 27 games for Atlanta (0 starts) averaging 5.0pts/2.0reb/1.6ast per contest, while shooting 37.4% from the field and 22% from beyond the arc. Bufkin dealt with nagging upper body injuries last season, ultimately resulting in shoulder surgery to address an instability on his right side.
The procedure would cost him the remainder of his sophomore campaign.
The deal creates roster flexibility for a retooled Atlanta squad, providing them with a $4.5M trade exception, and also gives Bufkin a fresh start in Brooklyn where he’ll likely see an uptick in minutes. When healthy, the 6’4″ guard has shown flashes of brilliance at both the University of Michigan and the G-League where he averaged 23.6 points per contest in 2023-24.
At the NBA level however, he was never able to carve out a significant role in Quin Snyder’s system, capping his minutes at a career high of 12.4 per contest in 2024-25. The aforementioned shoulder injury then derailed any momentum he was able to put together in his second professional season.
However, with a new look roster this season, Bufkin would have been hard pressed to earn meaningful minutes in a veteran heavy rotation. Trae Young and Dyson Daniels figure to occupy the starting guard spots, with Vit Krejci, Luke Kennard, Nikola Đurišić and Nickel Alexander-Walker likely penciled in behind them.
For Brooklyn, the deal gives them another young controllable asset that amounts to nothing more than a dart throw for the franchise. If Bufkin is able to regain his collegiate form, it’s a low cost acquisition for a team in desperate need of talent. If he proves expendable, then they aren’t tied to him long term.
With Bufkin on the roster, that gives Brooklyn 15 players on guaranteed contracts with $11.6M in cap space remaining.
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