Los Angeles, January 13, 2026, 22:30 PST
Key points
- The Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Kobe Bufkin to a 10-day contract on Tuesday.
- Bufkin has been producing for the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’ NBA G League affiliate.
- The short-term deal comes with Los Angeles squeezed by NBA salary-cap rules.
The Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Kobe Bufkin to a 10-day contract on Tuesday, the team announced.
The move matters because a 10-day contract is the shortest standard NBA deal, and it signals how tight the Lakers’ roster options are right now. Hoops Rumors reported the contract will pay Bufkin $131,970 and carry the same cap hit for Los Angeles, which is operating at its first-apron hard cap — a payroll ceiling teams cannot cross once triggered under the NBA’s latest labor deal.
Shams Charania of ESPN reported earlier that the Lakers had agreed to the deal, noting Bufkin’s strong play for South Bay and a brief stint with Memphis this season.
Bufkin, 22, was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 draft and played college basketball at Michigan. He is listed as a guard on the Lakers’ roster on NBA.com.
Coach JJ Redick told reporters Bufkin has “shown he can be engaged and guard” with South Bay, adding that the newcomer may not play immediately but will get a chance over the 10-day window. X (formerly Twitter)
Bufkin’s deal is also a small piece of larger midseason churn for Los Angeles, which has leaned on its G League pipeline for depth while it navigates cap limits and a compressed schedule. Hoops Rumors said the Lakers were already projected to have limited flexibility for a longer signing later this month.
But a 10-day contract cuts both ways. Bufkin may not crack the rotation, and his recent track record includes limited NBA minutes and a season in which he did not appear during a previous 10-day opportunity, according to Hoops Rumors’ report.
The signing lands in a Lakers spotlight that is not just about roster math. Bronny James remains on the team alongside his father LeBron James, after signing a four-year rookie contract worth $7.9 million that ESPN previously reported included a team option in the fourth season.
Off the court, a Times of India report published Wednesday put the combined net worth of Bronny and his younger brother Bryce at about $11.3 million, citing estimates from Forbes and On3. The report also said Bronny’s endorsements included deals with brands such as Nike and Beats, while Bryce’s earnings were tied to NIL contracts.
Bryce James is listed as a freshman guard on Arizona’s 2025-26 roster, according to the university’s athletics site.
