According to Cody Taylor of The Rookie Wire, The Brooklyn Nets are projected to select Michigan guard Kobe Bufkin with their first of two first-round picks (21st overall) thanks to the Kevin Durant trade. The Nets also have the 22nd overall pick in the first round and the 51st overall pick in the second round.
Bufkin, the 6’4″, 195 LB guard from Grand Rapids, Michigan, averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 35.5% from three-point land in his sophomore season for the Wolverines. For his efforts, he was named to the 2022-2023 All-Big Ten Third team as he was 17th in the conference in points per contest and ninth in steals per game (1.3).
With the Nets in a weird spot of sorts when it comes to deciding which direction they should head in, if they decide to embrace a full rebuild, Bufkin would be a good place to start. While Brooklyn has Mikal Bridges and Nic Claxton for the future, lead guard Spencer Dinwiddie has one more year left on his current contract at a little over $20 million before he is an unrestricted free-agent in the summer of 2024. Here’s what Taylor had to say about Bufkin:
“Bufkin wasn’t on the national radar to begin the season but climbed draft boards with his ability to run the offense and score at a high level. The lefty has a nice shooting stroke and converted 35.5% of his 3.7 attempts per game. He figures to provide some depth in the backcourt for teams drafting in this range, something the Nets could use.”
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