The Los Angeles Lakers chose to give Kobe Bufkin a standard NBA contract following the trade deadline, believing they would rather move forward with what he gives them over anyone on the buyout market. Now, it appears they may have some buyer's remorse.
Shams Charania reported on Twitter/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."
This creates an opportunity for Rob Pelinka and the front office to tinker with the roster ahead of a first-round series that will likely exclude Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The Lakers have one of two options with how they handle this.
If they wanted to go external to fill that spot, Los Angeles would need to sign someone who was released before March 1 to have them be eligible for playoff basketball. The path that should be much more likely is converting one of their current two-way players to a standard deal just in time to be added to the postseason roster.
Those guys already know the Lakers system. Realistically, that makes it a high probability of that spot going to either Nick Smith Jr. or Drew Timme.
Drew Timme and Nick Smith Jr. have one final opportunity to earn permanent Lakers spot
Despite having a roster spot locked down since February, Bufkin had not seen much extended run with the team. Granted, his signing was always a future-minded move that was more about having team control over a potential breakout contributor.
Perhaps the dire injury situation in Los Angeles forced the hand for more ready-made help. Or maybe the Lakers just believed Bufkin's upside was not as high as they initially thought to be.
Either way, Smith and Timme should be the two candidates who warrant the most attention now. One would imagine both players receive notable playing time against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night to make their case as to why they deserve a spot on the playoff roster.
The decision on one of them would need to be made before the regular season comes to an end. That pretty much turns the Suns game into the perfect audition.
Timme has been incredibly productive with the South Bay Lakers all year. Los Angeles fans have gotten a few good looks at him as well. The energy and hustle the Lakers forward plays with is admirable.
Smith may fill the more immediate and obvious need, though. Even with Luke Kennard stepping up in the playmaking department, the backcourt creation of the Lakers still stands out as a concern following the injuries to Doncic and Reaves. That is his specialty.
Either one of the two players would make a strong addition to the playoff roster. Given how unpredictable this Lakers season has been, one of them may even be asked to contribute in the postseason.