Overview
- The Pelicans placed guard Kobe Bufkin and forward Jalon Moore on waivers on Saturday, moving the team to an 18-player regular-season roster that includes three two-way slots.
- Bufkin is a 2023 first-round pick who played 43 NBA games over three seasons and joined New Orleans on a training-camp deal after a strong Summer League showing and prior stints with South Bay, Memphis, and the Lakers.
- Moore tore his Achilles before the 2025 draft, returned to play three Summer League games for New Orleans, and was in camp on an Exhibit 10 contract before being waived.
- Both players could be steered to the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, the Laketown Squadron, under Exhibit 10 arrangements that pay a reported $91,000 bonus if a player signs an affiliate contract and stays at least 60 days.
- Coverage differs on immediate outcomes for Bufkin because one report says his camp deal lacked Exhibit 10 language, which would leave him a free agent instead of an automatic G League affiliate, while other reports treat both waivers as standard end-of-preseason cuts that funnel fringe players into development paths.