The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving guard Kobe Bufkin a few days before the end of the 2025-26 regular season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania shared the news via X.
The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving guard Kobe Bufkin, sources tell ESPN. This opens a roster spot for the Lakers to evaluate a signing over the weekend.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 10, 2026
Lakers Face Key Decisions Before Playoffs
The Lakers will evaluate some players on their roster this week as they gear up for the playoffs. With only two games remaining, the Lakers have a chance to earn the No. 3 seed (with some help). At worst, the Lakers can finish as low as the No. 5 seed.
The two players who appear to be front-runners for the roster spot are forward Drew Timme, who started on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors, and guard Nick Smith Jr.
The Lakers are down two of their best players, guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. It is more than likely that the two will miss the entire first round of the playoffs. If the Lakers happen to advance past the first round, Doncic and Reaves could return to the court.
Bufkin played 16 games with the purple and gold. In his time in Los Angeles, the 22-year-old averaged 2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.1 steals while shooting 30 percent from the field and 19.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Los Angeles signed Bufkin to a standard two-year contract to fill the 15th roster spot after the trade deadline. The Lakers’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, acquired him in a November 2025 trade from the Pistons‘ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.
The Lakers sit at 51-29, which is good for fourth in the Western Conference. They’ll take on their division rivals, the Phoenix Suns, for their 81st contest of the season on Friday.