Overview
- Bufkin agreed to a one-year training-camp deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, a move reported late Saturday by multiple outlets and first posted by Michael Scotto.
- The contract is a non-guaranteed training-camp arrangement that puts Bufkin in competition for the Pelicans’ final standard roster spot.
- If he does not earn a standard roster place he remains eligible for a two-way berth or an Exhibit-10 conversion that would incentivize him to join the Pelicans’ G League affiliate.
- The Pelicans made the offer after Bufkin averaged 21.3 points in Las Vegas and scored 30 in the Summer League opener, a performance that followed a dominant 2025–26 season with the South Bay Lakers.
- Bufkin, the No. 15 pick in 2023 who has logged limited NBA minutes with Atlanta and Los Angeles, now has a low-risk route back to the league and a clear development path if New Orleans acquires his G League returning rights and assigns him to Birmingham.