Brooklyn Nets Trade $110K For Guard Kobe Bufkin, Reuniting Him With Coach Juwan Howard

Kobe Bufkin, the 15th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Brooklyn Nets in September 2025 for cash considerations. Bufkin, who struggled to find consistent playing time behind Trae Young at Atlanta, has expressed excitement about the new opportunity to compete for minutes and expand his role with Brooklyn. The trade reunites Bufkin with his former Michigan coach, Juwan Howard, now an assistant coach for the Nets, who Bufkin credits as a mentor and key to his development. Brooklyn's head coach Jordi Fernandez emphasized the value of adding another skilled ball handler like Bufkin to a young guard rotation that includes rookies Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and Ben Saraf. Despite limited NBA experience and coming off a shoulder surgery, Bufkin's size, defensive potential, and past collegiate growth under Howard position him well to earn significant playing time in Brooklyn. The Nets view the trade as low risk and a chance to develop a player they had previously rated highly, as Bufkin aims to prove himself in a more prominent role than he had in Atlanta.