![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2261016864-e1787136885252.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Former Lakers guard Kobe Bufkin during an NBA game in February 2026<\/p>\n
Former Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> guard Kobe Bufkin<\/a> faces an uncertain future with the 2026-27 NBA season just days away.<\/p>\n Bufkin joined the New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract<\/a> after impressing with the franchise during Summer League.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old entered training camp hoping to secure the team\u2019s final roster spot, but New Orleans ultimately waived him<\/a> ahead of the regular season.<\/p>\n Now, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 NBA<\/a> Draft finds himself at a crossroads as he considers the next step in his professional career.<\/p>\n Former Lakers Guard Faces Uncertain Future After NBA Release<\/p>\n Bufkin previously described<\/a> his time with New Orleans as \u201cpretty solid,\u201d but his performances ultimately failed to convince the Pelicans to retain him for the regular season.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-4 guard could now return to the G League, where he has averaged<\/a> 24.3 points across 38 appearances with the Atlanta Hawks<\/a>\u2018 and Lakers\u2019 affiliates over the past three seasons.<\/p>\n However, because his Exhibit 9 contract with New Orleans did not include Exhibit 10 language, a move to the Pelicans\u2019 G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, appears unlikely.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Lakers\u2019 newly relocated affiliate, Coachella Valley, still holds Bufkin\u2019s returning player rights following his previous stint with South Bay.<\/p>\n That creates an intriguing possibility of the former first-round pick reuniting with the Lakers organization through its developmental program.<\/p>\n However, with no clear pathway back to Los Angeles\u2019 NBA roster, Bufkin may prefer to pursue opportunities elsewhere.<\/p>\n One possibility is a move overseas, which would mark the first international chapter of his professional career.<\/p>\n Several recently waived<\/a> NBA players have taken that route, including Kevin Knox<\/a> II and Christian Koloko<\/a>, who have pursued opportunities abroad following their respective releases.<\/p>\n Bufkin\u2019s G League Success Could Open Door to Overseas Opportunities<\/p>\n Still only 23, Bufkin has already demonstrated his ability to dominate G League competition, potentially making him an attractive option for international clubs willing to offer a lucrative contract.<\/p>\n Across 24 appearances with South Bay in 2025-26, he averaged<\/a> 24.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.<\/p>\n He also shot an impressive 50.8% from the field and 42.3% from three-point range on seven attempts per contest.<\/p>\n Those performances earned Bufkin a 10-day contract with the Lakers before Los Angeles signed him to a standard NBA deal<\/a> for the remainder of the regular season.<\/p>\n However, the Lakers waived him ahead of the playoffs to create a roster spot for Nick Smith<\/a> Jr.<\/p>\n Importantly, Bufkin remains eligible for a two-way contract, although the upcoming campaign represents his final season of eligibility.<\/p>\n While another NBA opportunity may not emerge immediately following his release, that could give him an incentive to remain in the United States rather than pursue a move overseas.<\/p>\n Another productive start to the G League season could put him firmly back on the radar of NBA teams searching for backcourt depth.<\/p>\n Grant Afseth of RG.org<\/a> recently cited an NBA scout who described Bufkin as \u201can enticing player for a team to take a chance on,\u201d regardless of whether he secured a place on the Pelicans\u2019 roster.<\/p>\n The scout pointed to Bufkin\u2019s limited opportunities to establish himself at the NBA level, suggesting his impressive G League production offers reason to believe he still has untapped potential.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMatt Evans<\/a> is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Former Lakers guard Kobe Bufkin during an NBA game in February 2026 Former Los Angeles Lakers guard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":933708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-933707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}