The LA Lakers ‘consensus pick’ they missed in the 2023 Draft has now been traded and cut in 2025

LA Lakers never wanted to draft Jalen Hood-Schifino in 2023

Yes, the player that the Lakers wanted was Kobe Bufkin, who was drafted by the Hawks with their No. 15 pick in the draft.

In fact, according to a 2024 report by Lakers Daily, the organization was forced to ‘scramble’ after Bufkin’s name was called.

“According to sources, the consensus pick was Kobe Bufkin. When he was selected 15th by the Atlanta Hawks, the Lakers had to scramble,” Peter Dewey wrote for the Lakers Daily.

In simple terms, the Lakers were focused on drafting a shooting guard, but they essentially wasted that draft pick.

But what happened to their original target? Is Bufkin still in the NBA? No.

Kobe Bufkin gets cut from the NBA

Despite playing in just 17 games during his rookie year, the Hawks were seemingly impressed by the 6’4″ guard. After all, the Hawks refused to include Bufkin in a trade for Pascal Siakam.

However, it didn’t take long for the Hawks to move on from Bufkin, as he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets this offseason.

Unfortunately, the Nets didn’t share the same excitement over Bufkin, as he was recently waived by the franchise.

All things considered, both the Lakers and the Hawks wasted their draft picks. Neither Hood-Schifino nor Bufkin is currently an NBA-worthy player, but who knows what the future holds for them.