Nets to waive former first-round guard

The Brooklyn Nets are waiving guard Kobe Bufkin, Shams Charania reports for ESPN (via X).

Bufkin came to Brooklyn in a trade with the Hawks in which Brooklyn sent out $110K in cash considerations. He joined a Nets roster loaded with guard competition, especially after the Nets took Ben Saraf, Egor Demin, and Nolan Traore in the first round of the 2025 draft.

Kobe Bufkin has had a tough start to NBA career

The third-year guard has struggled with injuries throughout his NBA career, which has limited him to just 27 games played in two seasons. He averaged 5.0 points and 1.6 assists in 11.9 minutes per game during his time with the Hawks.

The former 15th overall pick in 2023 struggled to carve out much of a role with the Nets during preseason, averaging just 10.9 minutes in his two games played, and scoring 7.0 points on .364/.375/.600 shooting splits.

Bobby Marks of ESPN writes (via X) that this move allows the Nets to hit the salary floor in addition to making necessary roster cuts. Not reaching the floor would cause Brooklyn to lose its luxury tax distribution, which is projected to be around $12.8M, Marks notes (X link).

Bufkin will now become a free agent.