The Lakers are shuffling their roster with the playoffs beginning in eight days.
Kobe Bufkin, who joined the roster in February on a two-year deal with a team option, was waived Friday morning, a source familiar with the situation but unauthorized to speak publicly confirmed to the Southern California News Group.
ESPN first reported that the Lakers had parted ways with Bufkin.
The 22-year-old guard from Michigan, who was the 15th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2023 NBA Draft, was signed by the Lakers to a 10-day contract in January. He agreed to a standard contract in February, appearing in 16 games and averaging 2.9 points in 7.4 minutes.
With two games to go as of Friday morning, and Lakers coach JJ Redick still figuring out what rotations look like without Austin Reaves (left oblique strain) and Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain), the Lakers have now reopened the 15th spot on their roster ahead of the postseason.
Candidates to take Bufkin’s spot on the team likely point inward.
Backup big man Drew Timme is on a two-way contract and has played a variety of roles since the Lakers’ pair of regular-season-ending injuries to Doncic and Reaves. He started and played 27 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and appeared in nine minutes off the bench against the Golden State Warriors in the Lakers’ return to the win column.
Another two-way contract player who could fill the roster spot is guard Nick Smith Jr., who recorded a pair of 20-plus-point performances before the turn of the new year. Redick gave Smith some minutes during the second half on Thursday, when he shot 4 for 5 from behind the arc and finished with 12 points.
Timme or Smith would have to have their contract converted before the end of the regular season to be eligible to play for the Lakers during the playoffs.
“We’re evaluating all the options we have,” Redick said Friday when asked about the decision to waive Bufkin and the now-open roster spot. “That’s all I can tell you at this point.”
Additionally, any players waived before March 1 are playoff-eligible should the Lakers search in free agency for a last-minute addition.
