Where Kobe Bufkin Fits in the Brooklyn Nets’ Point Guard Rotation

The Brooklyn Nets have a major point guard conundrum.

Last season, the position was quite bare outside of D'Angelo Russell. Russell departed the Nets in free agency, which forced the franchise to almost overcompensate for the lack of depth at the position.

Sean Marks and the front office utilized the 2025 NBA Draft to reload at the one, bringing in Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf—all of whom are renowned for their playmaking abilities. It would've been hard to get all three on the floor at once. Well, now there's another in the fold by way of Brooklyn's recent trade for 2023 first-rounder Kobe Bufkin.

Bufkin gets reunited with Juwan Howard, the former Michigan head coach turned Nets assistant, and will have an opportunity to realize his potential under player development guru Jordi Fernandez.

But now, with four guys aged 21 or under, you run into a rotational issue. Who plays? Where does Bufkin stack up now?

Given that Demin was an investment made with the eighth-overall pick, he likely is the early leader for playing time. Plus, out of all the options, he provides the biggest mismatch at 6-foot-9, and probably has the highest potential.

Traore's blazing speed presents a similar matchup nightmare to Demin's height, which will undoubtedly earn him some minutes. In summer league, we even saw Steve Hetzel run Demin and Traore in the same lineup. There are absolutely ways to get both on the floor simultaneously.

Saraf is the rawest of the bunch, and with the addition of Bufkin, he may have been pushed to the fourth string. He was the Nets' second-to-last selection in June's draft and could end up spending some time in the G League to further his development instead of just sitting on the bench.

So where does Bufkin land? Due to his ties to Howard, he will absolutely get some run. And it's not like he's 6-foot-2. He is 6-foot-4, meaning that he does have the ability to play some small-ball shooting guard, which could be compensated for if Michael Porter Jr.—who is 6-foot-10—runs the three.

The rotations will ultimately fall on Fernandez's hands. He'll have to get creative to get all these guys adequate run. Regardless of how that turns out, it seems inevitable that Bufkin will be involved somewhere—or else Brooklyn wouldn't have sent the Atlanta Hawks the $110,000 in cash considerations it took to make him a Net.