NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Kobe Bufkin has not had the start to his career that he was hoping for after being selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Bufkin spent his first two seasons in the league with the Atlanta Hawks backing up star guard Trae Young, but the former Michigan Wolverine had the chance to give his take on being traded to Brooklyn.
“Yeah, it was something that I kind of could see coming in conversations I had with the team,” Bufkin said during Nets Media Day on Tuesday when asked about the trade. On Sep. 16, one week before Media Day, the Nets acquired Bufkin from the Hawks in exchange for cash considerations that amounted to a total of $110,000, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
“I didn’t know how soon or when it may be or if it would actually happen, but I’m excited to be here and excited to get to work,” Bufkin continued. Following his trade to Brooklyn, Bufkin finds himself in a situation where he has a real shot of competing for playing time at either of the guard spots as opposed to Atlanta where the point guard and shooting guard spots are essentially locked up by Young and Dyson Daniels.
Even if Bufkin isn’t starting at point guard for the Nets to begin the 2025-26 season, he is still set to gain some valuable experience at the very least. During his two years with the Hawks, Bufkin played in just 27 games, meaning that he would still have to play 45 games with Brooklyn to get to a full season of NBA basketball under his belt.
Bufkin will have some tough competition in camp as he will mostly be competing with Egor Demin and Nolan Traore, the eighth and 19th overall picks from the 2025 NBA Draft, respectively. Head coach Jordi Fernandez is not opposed to play up to 10 guys in a single game so if Bufkin shows that he can be a productive member for the Nets, he should get the time he needs on the floor to develop into the player that he couldn’t during his time in Atlanta.