Jazz sign Kobe Bufkin to two-way, waive Blake Hinson

Wednesday morning started with word that Hinson's time in Utah was up, and the replacement got named within minutes.

Jake Fischer

@JakeLFischer

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

Bufkin needed a soft landing. The former Michigan guard went to Atlanta at 15 in 2023 and then got hit with injury after injury there: a fractured thumb as a rookie, a big toe sprain, then shoulder instability that needed season-ending surgery in December 2024. He played 27 games across 2 seasons with the Hawks. The Lakers gave him a 10-day in January 2026, turned that into a 2-year deal, and waived him in April. New Orleans brought him to camp on an Exhibit 9 deal in July and cut him Saturday.

The Jazz part of this story is the fun part. Utah knew him before any of that, and the draft-night link to their own starting point guard makes it a little funnier.

So the Jazz liked Bufkin, Atlanta took him at 15, and Utah ended up with Keyonte George one pick later. Things worked out fine for Utah there. Three years on, the Jazz get the guy they passed on (or got beaten to) for the price of a two-way deal. It's his last year of two-way eligibility, and he makes a prorated $674,980 if he sticks through January's guarantee date. That costs Utah almost nothing.

The case for Bufkin is all G League. With South Bay last year he put up 24.8 points, 4.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds a game on.507/.423/.895 shooting and made All-NBAGL second team. The NBA numbers aren't close: 4.2 points in 10.2 minutes a night over 43 games, shooting 21.2% from 3. Expect a lot of Salt Lake City Stars games. The upside is real, though, for a team that's still building and has backcourt minutes to give out.

Hinson is the guy who loses out. The 26-year-old was a legit bright spot in a short run last season, scoring 11.9 a game on 46.8% from 3 across 14 games in 20.4 minutes a night. A shooter with those splits shouldn't stay unemployed long. If nobody claims him off waivers, he's an unrestricted free agent Friday, and somebody needing spacing should call him. For Bufkin it's team number 4 in about a year, and probably his last chance on a two-way to show he's more than a G League bucket-getter.