Room check: Kobe Bufkin

[sillent]

I'll be completely honest I plan on using this as a reference for the young man Kobe Bufkin to see how he ages in this league.

I personally think we have a great player on our hands.

I felt that with Mo G the moment I watched his highlights and I'm honestly impressed with all our rookies from their poise to their interviews.

Since most of us can agree that we are excited about Mohammed Gueye and many don't have an issue with Seth Lundy I wanted to see the squawks overall consensus on Kobe Bufkin.

What do you all think about Kobe Bufkin and where do you project his career to go?

[NBASupes]

He's gonna take a lot of development. 

[RandomFan]

It's interesting, if you look at Hawks related media Twitter it's full of people that love Bufkin and continually have thrown him flowers the entire summer league. Talking about things like how advanced he is for his age and how many things he already does at a high level, while acknowledging he still has to adjust to the NBA game.

But then you come here and are mostly told (and i emphasize mostly, not all) that he's a bum that is years away from being a major contributor. 

I'm really torn on who to believe.

[bird_dirt]

50 minutes ago, sillent said:

where do you project his career to go?

Toronto if you believe the trade rumors. This is assuming the raptors haven’t been watching summer league too closely. 

[RedDawg#8]

Kobe has a long career ahead of him. 
That could mean he becomes a DJM or Maxey type, or maybe just a Kent Bazemore.

I don’t see a great player, but I do see a great competitor. His ceiling is probably a high level 6th man. I doubt his best days come in a Hawks uniform, thus I am not attached by any means.

[JustSomeGuy]

I think he will be a solid player, with Trae and DJ it probably won’t be here long term, which kind of makes it a wasted pick.

I really hate that we passed on Whitmore though. 

[NBASupes]

47 minutes ago, RandomFan said:

It's interesting, if you look at Hawks related media Twitter it's full of people that love Bufkin and continually have thrown him flowers the entire summer league. Talking about things like how advanced he is for his age and how many things he already does at a high level, while acknowledging he still has to adjust to the NBA game.

But then you come here and are mostly told (and i emphasize mostly, not all) that he's a bum that is years away from being a major contributor. 

I'm really torn on who to believe.

Guys focusing on specific plays or guys focusing on the entire game, all plays being included. Who should you ride with, the answer is obvious, the fight you are having with yourself is who do you want to ride with. It's clear that's the Hawks twitter guys or you wouldn't have brought them up

[RandomFan]

9 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Guys focusing on specific plays or guys focusing on the entire game, all plays being included. Who should you ride with, the answer is obvious, the fight you are having with yourself is who do you want to ride with. It's clear that's the Hawks twitter guys or you wouldn't have brought them up

Yes, the answer is blatantly obvious. I wasn't really torn on who to believe, that was sarcasm. I apologize if that was opaque.

While I truly value you bringing inside stuff to the board [and y]our scoops and info dumps are great, [but] the player evals, lets just say we don't agree very often. 

[RandomFan]

2 hours ago, JustSomeGuy said:

I think he will be a solid player, with Trae and DJ it probably won’t be here long term, which kind of makes it a wasted pick.

I really hate that we passed on Whitmore though. 

A team needs to go at least 9 or 10 players deep for a playoff run. Just because a guy might never be a starter doesn't make it a waste pick. 

And we had Trae and DJM last year, but that didn't stop our biggest need from being another player who could handle the ball and playmake for others. There is a reason that type of player is who the Hawks targeted in the draft.

Not sure attempting to address your biggest hole on the roster should be considered a wasted pick, especially outside the lottery.

[h4wkfan]

I have zero takeaway from his summer league run. Without knowing the exact plan, it felt like we asked Mo + Seth to play a role they would be asked to play. And they both looked pretty good playing that role. 
 

with Kobe, it felt like we asked the guy who should be playing an off ball, lower usage role at this stage to play like Jordan Clarkson. And that was an inefficient chuckfest with the occasional flash. I’d like to see how we actually plan to use him, but not a SL to remember. 

[thecampster]

7 hours ago, sillent said:

I'll be completely honest I plan on using this as a reference for the young man Kobe Bufkin to see how he ages in this league.

I personally think we have a great player on our hands.

I felt that with Mo G the moment I watched his highlights and I'm honestly impressed with all our rookies from their poise to their interviews.

Since most of us can agree that we are excited about Mohammed Gueye and many don't have an issue with Seth Lundy I wanted to see the squawks overall consensus on Kobe Bufkin.

What do you all think about Kobe Bufkin and where do you project his career to go?

I am not a fan.  In my mind, it will be hard to ever feel good about the Bufkin pick, knowing we had Whitmore on the board and passed on him.

[thecampster]

Bufkin summer league.  33.3% from the floor, 13.8% from 3.  15 FGA/g to get 14 pts. 3.6APG, 4.6 TO, .9 steals, -3.  in only 27 minutes per game.  This means he missed a shot every 2.7 minutes minutes. Had a turnover every 5.5 minutes. IE, as the point guard he was personally responsible for a bad possession every 1.8 minutes.

 

That's a 5 game sample and the numbers were fairly consistent game to game.  He is really not ready.  He dribbled into double teams that resulted in turnovers every single game. IMHO, he's 3 years from being a worthwhile contributor and needs serious time at College Park.

Edited July 17, 2023 by thecampster

[Gray Mule]

If I remember correctly, It's believed that development of a NBA point guard takes more time.  Also, Kobe Bufkin is thought of more of a two guard than a PG.  

Most Hawk fans now believe that Trae Young is now a pretty good PG in the NBA.  How did he look when he played in the Summer League?  The best fans thought he was borderline player at best and the rest of us said, "We got screwed in that trade, didn't we."

Kobe Bufkin appears to be a smart, talented and willing to put in the necessary time and work to ensure his success.  Three draft picks, all of which, right now, look like 1st round picks!

[sillent]

4 minutes ago, thecampster said:

I am not a fan.  In my mind, it will be hard to ever feel good about the Bufkin pick, knowing we had Whitmore on the board and passed on him.

I appreciate your opinion and all of y'alls honest opinions.

Honestly from what I'm hearing those that dislike Kobe the most mainly have those sentiments because they really wanted Cam Whitemore.

I'm torn on anyone named Cam at this point. It's undeniable that every Cam in the league can ball. Ironically I wanted Cam Johnson before we picked Cam Reddish but once we got Reddish and I saw his skillset I was an ultimate fan.

Problem with the Cams is most of them although highly talented for some reason have had a hard time getting time on the court. That leads me to believe something about their attitudes, swag or behavior doesn't fit with the "politics" of the NBA. Cam Whitemore came into the draft already looking that way and I don't doubt that he will probably go thru the same "political" struggles in this league.

Still I get it because I was looking at Derek Lively before the draft even though I know it usually takes Centers time to develop. 

The fan in me was like once we made our choice focus on whose a Hawk and what they can bring.

I state again I really think Kobe Bufkin will be a high level player but time will tell.

[StonedDogs]

Emani Bates fell into our laps though but our philosophical, latte GM. Kid is going to be special

 

 

[sillent]

17 minutes ago, thecampster said:

Bufkin summer league.  33.3% from the floor, 13.8% from 3.  15 FGA/g to get 14 pts. 3.6APG, 4.6 TO, .9 steals, -3.  in only 27 minutes per game.  This means he missed a shot every 2.7 minutes minutes. Had a turnover every 5.5 minutes. IE, as the point guard he was personally responsible for a bad possession every 1.8 minutes.

 

That's a 5 game sample and the numbers were fairly consistent game to game.  He is really not ready.  He dribbled into double teams that resulted in turnovers every single game. IMHO, he's 3 years from being a worthwhile contributor and needs serious time at College Park.

Oh well going by that we're fools for trading our best "summer league player" to the Rockets

[Diesel]

22 minutes ago, thecampster said:

I am not a fan.  In my mind, it will be hard to ever feel good about the Bufkin pick, knowing we had Whitmore on the board and passed on him.

I thought Whitmore had a injury and he gave poor workouts...

You can't judge Bufkin based on Whitmore that makes no sense.

Question:  What kind of player do you think Bufkin will be.

Camp's Answer:  Cam Whitmore was still on the board. 

HUH??

 

[Diesel]

11 minutes ago, sillent said:

I appreciate your opinion and all of y'alls honest opinions.

Honestly from what I'm hearing those that dislike Kobe the most mainly have those sentiments because they really wanted Cam Whitemore.

I'm torn on anyone named Cam at this point. It's undeniable that every Cam in the league can ball. Ironically I wanted Cam Johnson before we picked Cam Reddish but once we got Reddish and I saw his skillset I was an ultimate fan.

Problem with the Cams is most of them although highly talented for some reason have had a hard time getting time on the court. That leads me to believe something about their attitudes, swag or behavior doesn't fit with the "politics" of the NBA. Cam Whitemore came into the draft already looking that way and I don't doubt that he will probably go thru the same "political" struggles in this league.

Still I get it because I was looking at Derek Lively before the draft even though I know it usually takes Centers time to develop. 

The fan in me was like once we made our choice focus on whose a Hawk and what they can bring.

I state again I really think Kobe Bufkin will be a high level player but time will tell.

I say that we have to wait and see.  I have seen him make some nice passes but for my taste, he has to put on some weight and he should be in college park developing. 

 

[theheroatl]

7 hours ago, NBASupes said:

He's gonna take a lot of development. 

This is my assessment too. He seems very raw for someone who played a bigger college program.

[thecampster]

27 minutes ago, sillent said:

I appreciate your opinion and all of y'alls honest opinions.

Honestly from what I'm hearing those that dislike Kobe the most mainly have those sentiments because they really wanted Cam Whitemore.

I'm torn on anyone named Cam at this point. It's undeniable that every Cam in the league can ball. Ironically I wanted Cam Johnson before we picked Cam Reddish but once we got Reddish and I saw his skillset I was an ultimate fan.

Problem with the Cams is most of them although highly talented for some reason have had a hard time getting time on the court. That leads me to believe something about their attitudes, swag or behavior doesn't fit with the "politics" of the NBA. Cam Whitemore came into the draft already looking that way and I don't doubt that he will probably go thru the same "political" struggles in this league.

Still I get it because I was looking at Derek Lively before the draft even though I know it usually takes Centers time to develop. 

The fan in me was like once we made our choice focus on whose a Hawk and what they can bring.

I state again I really think Kobe Bufkin will be a high level player but time will tell.

I feel you here, but there is a talent gap.  My main hope for Bufkin is his game isn't too dissimilar from Trae's.  If ever there was a mentor to help fix what's broken, Trae's that dude.  He's gonna get that opportunity in practice. I'll be interested to see him run in training camp against Trae, may go to the open practice this year just to see it.  My guess is he'll get torched.  Here's to hoping I'm wrong. He's a Hawk now.