After being refused on Saturday by New Orleans, a free agent Kobe Bufkin agreed to sign a bilateral contract with JazzBleacher Report and The Stein Line’s Jake Fisher reports (Link to Twitter).
Utah doesn’t currently have an open two-way slot, so the team will need to waive one of its current two-way players to make room for Bufkin. According to Michael Scott of HoopsHype (Link to Twitter), a strange person will be ahead Blake Hinson.
Bufkin, the 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft, has played in just 43 games over his first three NBA seasons. He battled injuries during a two-year stint in Atlanta and then spent part of the 2025-26 season with the Lakers before being waived in April. He earned an Exhibit 9 training camp contract with the Pelicans in July, but was unable to earn a spot on New Orleans’ regular season roster.
Bufkin, 23, is putting up modest numbers at the NBA level, averaging 4.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 10.2 minutes per game on .354/.212/.737 shooting. However, the 6’4″ guard did have a great year in the G League last season, posting 24.8 ppg, 4.1 ppg and 4.0 rpg on .507/.423/.895 shooting in 24 outings (32.5 mpg) for the South Bay Lakers. The performance earned him a spot on the NBAGL second team.
Hinson, 26, played well in limited action for the Jazz last season, posting 11.9 ppg on .513/.468/.750 shooting in 14 games (20.4 ppg). Like Bufkin, the 6’8″ forward was also productive in the G League, posting 23.5 ppg on a .482/.370/.691 slash line in 32 games for the Rip City Remix and Salt Lake City Stars.
This is Bufkin’s final year of two-way eligibility, so his new deal will only cover one season. Assuming it is completed Wednesday, he would be eligible to appear in 50 regular-season games for Utah and earn a prorated salary of $674,980 as long as he is under contract through the league-wide guaranteed salary date in January.
As for Hinson, he will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday if he is released today and goes unclaimed.
