LOS ANGELES – Following the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers used their open roster spot to sign Kobe Bufkin who had been playing with their G League affiliate in South Bay. The signing happened rather quickly, leaving fans on social media pondering about potential buyout candidates. But prior to the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, head coach JJ Redick spoke about why the buyout market is not always the best option.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into the buyout market. I’ll just be frank, I know this because I did this when I was working in media. It very rarely produces a player that impacts a team’s playoff chances. It just very rarely does,” Redick said. “The second part of that is you got to make sure if you get a buyout player, you got to make sure that guy is healthy, that guy is ready to play.”
When it comes to Bufkin, not only did the Lakers have familiarity with him having brought him up on a 10-day contract a couple of weeks ago, but there was the chance that a rival team might grab him first due to his strong G League play. The Memphis Grizzlies had already signed him to a 10-day contract back in November so opposing teams certainly had their eye on him.
The Lakers simply couldn’t allow such a talented player to slip through their grasp.
“Kobe certainly earned a spot in the NBA with the way he’s played this year for us in South Bay,” Redick said. “There’s also the factors of are we going to be able to keep him in our program. So there’s a lot that went into it. We feel really happy that we got him on a roster spot.”
The Lakers’ roster is set for now heading into the final couple of months of the regular season. All three of their two-way contract spots are filled, and it doesn’t appear likely that they would eat a guaranteed salary at this point to potentially open another standard roster spot.
As far as what Bufkin can bring to the lineup, Redick has been pleased with the way South Bay head coach Zach Guthrie has stressed making an impact on the defensive end of the court.
“The thing that Zach has really challenged him on this year and that he’s gotten better on is just his defensive activity and engagement,” Redick said. “I think he’s got the positional size to be a plus defender. And obviously his ability to shoot the ball consistently, particularly on our team, would provide great value.”
