Utah Jazz Sign Former First-Round Pick Right Before Opening Night

The Utah Jazz have made a slight roster shake-up with their season opener right around the corner.

April 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bufkin (18) controls the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Utah Jazz have made an interesting roster shakeup only a few hours out from their season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies–– done by making a move to sign on a former first-round pick from three years ago.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Jazz are signing free agent guard Kobe Bufkin to a two-way contract.

The Jazz are signing Kobe Bufkin, per source, to Utah’s newly-opened two-way slot.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) October 21, 2026

Bufkin had been with the New Orleans Pelicans throughout the course of training camp and preseason before the team decided to release him amid their roster cutdowns earlier this month. Seeing that, the Jazz decided to pounce on Bufkin pretty quickly and ink him onto a two-way deal.

Alongside the move to bring on Bufkin, the Jazz have also decided to waive two-way forward Blake Hinson in order to create roster space, thus making Bufkin their third and final two-way slot heading into the new year.

That means Bufkin will join both guard Trey Alexander and forward Harrison Ingram as the three two-way slots to land on the opening night roster.

What Kobe Bufkin Brings to the Table for Utah

Bufkin was the 15th-overall pick back in the 2023 NBA Draft, selected by the Atlanta Hawks, where he ultimately spent two seasons.

In those two seasons, Bufkin struggled to find a spot in the nightly rotation, ultimately playing in 27 games with the Hawks to record 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 37.4% from the field and 21.2% from three. 

A couple of years later, he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, quickly waived, then landed with the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half of the 2025-26 season. There, he played in 16 games to average 2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.6 assists while shooting 30.0% from the field.

That was the last time he's been on an NBA floor for a regular season game, and now, he'll look to have a chance at a fresh start in Utah to kick off his 2026-27 campaign.

Oct 8, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Kobe Bufkin (4) drives to the basket against Miami Heat guard Tre Donaldson (24) during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Adding Bufkin into the mix as a two-way signing is really a bet on his potential. Considering he was a first-round pick just three years ago to now being a free agent on opening night, the Jazz clearly wanted to take a dart throw on his services on a low-risk contract, and were able to do that by signing him onto a two-way deal.

So for Bufkin, he'll likely be spending time with both the Jazz main roster and their G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, along with both Alexander and Ingram.

Utah can call Bufkin or any of their two-way guys up for a maximum of 50 regular-season games before they're tasked with signing him to a traditional contract.

It remains to be seen if Bufkin plays up to that status, but at the very least, it’s an interesting flier on a once highly-touted prospect that could develop into something more down the line.

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