Lakers Sign Kobe Bufkin To Two-Year Contract
February 8: Bufkin has officially re-signed with the Lakers, the team confirmed today (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times).
February 7: Free agent guard Kobe Bufkin will sign a two-year contract with the Lakers, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal includes a team option for next seas0n.
Bufkin, 22, has been a standout with the organization’s G League affiliate in South Bay and spent time with the Lakers on a 10-day contract in January. He appeared in four games during that stint, averaging 3.0 PPG in 11 minutes per night.
He also signed a 10-day hardship contract with Memphis in late November, but didn’t see any game action.
Bufkin was selected by Atlanta with the 15th pick in the 2023 draft, but only appeared in 27 games over two years before being traded to Brooklyn in September. The Nets waived him before the start of the season, and he headed to the G League, where he’s averaging 27.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 14 regular season games.
Bufkin will be the Lakers’ 15th standard contract once his signing is official. That means they would have to waive a player and eat some guaranteed money if they want to add anyone in the buyout market, notes Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link).
Clippers Sign Dalano Banton To 10-Day Contract
February 8: Banton’s 10-day contract was finalized on Saturday, according to the official transactions log at NBA.com.
February 7: The Clippers plan to sign free agent guard Dalano Banton to a 10-day contract, according to reports from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links).
The Raptors selected Toronto native Banton with the 46th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He played two years for his hometown team and then spent the following two seasons with Boston and Portland.
In 216 games from 2021-25, Banton averaged 6.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists on .402/.304/.728 shooting (14.5 minutes per contest). At 6’8″, Banton has great size for a guard, but struggled with efficiency over the course of his first four years in the league.
Banton was unable to find a regular NBA contract as a free agent in 2025, instead inking an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with Dallas in October prior to being waived. He has been playing in the G League with Mavs’ affiliate team, the Dallas Legends.
The 26-year-old has put up big numbers with a high usage rate in the NBAGL this season, averaging 24.2 PPG, 6.7 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 1.0 BPG on .441/.325/.821 shooting in 32 total games (32.7 MPG).
The Clippers had a pair of standard roster openings after making three trades prior to Thursday’s deadline. Banton will, at least temporarily, fill one of those spots. Assuming Banton’s 10-day deal is finalized prior to Sunday’s game at Minnesota, his contract will expire over the All-Star break.
As Keith Smith of Spotrac notes (via Twitter), the Clippers are nearing their “under-15” limit for two-way players — a team carrying fewer than 15 players on its standard roster can only use players on two-way contracts for up to 90 combined games. Signing Banton as a 14th man and then filling the 15th roster spot would allow L.A. to continue deploying both Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller beyond Saturday’s game (one of the two could be promoted into that 15th spot).
[Update: Kobe Sanders Receives Standard Contract From Clippers]
Wizards Waive Dante Exum
The Wizards have placed veteran guard Dante Exum on waivers, the team announced today (via Twitter). Exum was one of the four players Washington acquired from Dallas in the Anthony Davis blockbuster ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.
The move had been anticipated, since Exum underwent season-ending surgery on his right knee in December. He didn’t play at all in 2025/26 due to complications related to an offseason procedure on that knee, which required follow-up surgery.
It was the latest in a long line of injuries that have limited Exum’s availability over the course of his professional career. After playing all 82 games as a rookie, the former fifth overall pick missed his entire second NBA season in 2015/16 due to a torn ACL, then was plagued by shoulder, ankle, and knee issues in subsequent years.
Exum rebuilt his value by playing in Europe from 2021-23 before returning stateside during the 2023 offseason on a deal with Dallas. The 30-year-old Australian was a very effective role player for the Mavs when healthy, averaging 8.0 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .516/.472/.768. However, he has made just 75 appearances since the start of the 2023/24 season, including just 20 in ’24/25 due to right wrist surgery and a broken left hand.
The Wizards will continue to carry Exum’s $2,296,274 cap hit on their books after he clears waivers, but they’ll open up a spot on their 15-man roster as a result of the move. They currently have 13 players on full standard contracts, with Keshon Gilbert occupying their 14th roster slot on a 10-day contract.
Kobe Sanders Receives Standard Contract From Clippers
The Clippers have promoted two-way player Kobe Sanders to a standard contract, the team announced (via Twitter).
According to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), Sanders’ new deal will be a two-year, minimum-salary contract that features a team option for 2026/27.
The 23-year-old shooting guard has become a productive member of L.A.’s rotation in his first NBA season. Through 43 games, he’s averaging 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 21.5 minutes per night with .448/.381/.814 shooting numbers.
Sanders agreed to the two-way contract after being selected with the 50th pick in last year’s draft. The Clippers acquired him in a draft night trade with New York.
With just 13 players holding standard contracts, L.A. was nearing its “under-15” limit for two-way players to be active. A team carrying fewer than 15 players on its standard roster can only use players on two-way contracts for up to 90 combined games.
Sanders’ promotion and the expected signing of Dalano Banton to a 10-day contract will remove that concern, at least through the All-Star break.
When Banton’s 10-day deal expires, the Clippers will have to re-fill that 15th roster spot to ensure two-way player Jordan Miller can remain active — Miller himself could be promoted into that spot.
Warriors Convert Pat Spencer To Standard Contract
2:16 pm: Spencer’s contract covers the remainder of the season, tweets Shams Charania of ESPN, and will be worth the prorated veteran’s minimum ($857,804), which is all the Warriors could offer him, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link).
Spencer is on track to become a restricted free agent this summer, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
1:46 pm: The Warriors have officially converted Pat Spencer‘s two-way contract into a standard deal, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
The 6’2″ point guard is now eligible to play the rest of regular season. Spencer is playoff-eligible as well, which wasn’t the case on his two-way deal.
Golden State had two openings on its standard roster after Thursday’s trade deadline. The team now has one open standard spot (the Warriors are reportedly eyeing Lonzo Ball) and one two-way vacancy after converting Spencer’s contract.
A former lacrosse star at Loyola Maryland who didn’t play college basketball until he was a 23-year-old graduate student at Northwestern, Spencer is having a career year in his third season with Golden State, averaging 5.8 points, 2.9 assists and 2.2 rebounds on .423/.431/.833 shooting in 36 games (14.4 MPG).
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported earlier on Saturday that Golden State was working to promote Spencer, who scored a career-high 20 points and knocked down a career-best six three-pointers in Thursday’s win at Phoenix (story via Kalyb Champion of the team’s website). Thursday marked Spencer’s 50th active game of the season, which is the limit for two-way players.
Spencer, 29, has played a modest role when Stephen Curry has been healthy in 2025/26, but has seen a major uptick in playing time when the superstar guard has been sidelined, averaging 11.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.9 RPG and 1.0 SPG in 13 games (25.3 MPG).
Marc Stein reported in December that Spencer’s promotion was viewed as a near lock, then noted in January that it was likely to occur after the deadline. Spencer also had his two-way deal converted into a standard contract last year.
Bulls, Hornets Amend Coby White Trade
The Bulls and Hornets have amended the terms of the trade that sent Coby White to Charlotte after a physical revealed the seventh-year guard had a left calf injury, which will require him to miss some games, league sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).
On the NBA’s official injury report, White is listed as out due to a left calf strain.
White, who turns 26 years old later this month, had played in 11 of Chicago’s last 12 games before being traded to Charlotte, but Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson suggested White would likely be held out through the All-Star break because of his calf injury.
The Hornets originally agreed to send three second-round picks — the Nuggets’ or Hornets’ 2029 selection (whichever was least favorable), the Nuggets’ 2031 pick, and the Knicks’ 2031 second — to the Bulls in the deal. According to Katz, the Hornets will retain that 2029 pick and will send Chicago the two second-rounders in 2031.
The full deal saw White and Mike Conley head to Charlotte for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and the pair of 2031 second-round picks. Conley was subsequently waived by the Hornets and intends to rejoin the Timberwolves, while the Bulls rerouted Dieng to the Bucks for Nick Richards.
Although this is the first trade of 2025/26 in which the terms were altered due to a player’s health, it’s certainly not unprecedented. For instance, the Sixers added a second-round pick to last year’s Quentin Grimes–Caleb Martin swap when the Mavericks flagged Martin’s hip injury.
The Lakers also rescinded their deal with the Hornets last February after failing Mark Williams‘ physical, though a voided trade is obviously different than the terms being changed. After the trade deadline has passed, a trade can only be voided or accepted as is — the Hornets and Bulls agreed to amend the terms of the White deal prior to Thursday’s deadline, even though the change wasn’t reported until now.
A North Carolina native who played his college ball at UNC, White has battled calf issues on both legs this season. The impending free agent has averaged 18.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds on .438/.346/.805 shooting through 29 games in ’25/26 (29.1 minutes per contest).
Magic Sign Jevon Carter To Rest-Of-Season Deal
4:46 pm: Carter’s rest-of-season deal is now official, the Magic announced (via Twitter).
9:55 am: The Magic intend to sign point guard Jevon Carter for the rest of the season, agents Mark Bartelstein and Reggie Brown tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Carter was cut by the Bulls earlier in the week in order to accommodate the acquisition of Dario Saric, the first of seven trades Chicago made between Sunday and Thursday. Having been placed on waivers five days ago, the 30-year-old guard went unclaimed on Tuesday and became an unrestricted free agent.
An eighth-year NBA veteran, Carter has appeared in 435 regular season games for Memphis, Phoenix, Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Chicago since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2018. He had his best season in 2022/23 in Milwaukee, starting 39 of 81 games and averaging career highs in points (8.0), assists (2.4), and rebounds (2.5) per game.
That performance earned Carter a three-year, $19.5MM deal with Chicago that summer, but he ended up playing a limited role in a crowded Bulls backcourt. In 23 games (11.0 MPG) this season, he scored 5.4 PPG on .398/.410/1.000 shooting.
The Magic’s lone move at this week’s trade deadline was to send Tyus Jones and his $7MM salary to Charlotte along with a pair of second-round picks. That move allowed Orlando to duck below the luxury tax line but also removed a veteran point guard from the roster, so adding Carter will help fill a hole on the depth chart.
As a result of the Jones trade, the Magic moved approximately $1.4MM below the tax threshold and opened up a second spot on their 15-man roster. Carter will fill one of those two openings and – if he officially signs on Friday – would carry a prorated minimum-salary cap hit of $871K. That will allow Orlando to stay out of the tax and potentially sign a 15th man later in the season.
While Carter’s cap hit will be $871K, his rest-of-season salary will be approximately $1.17MM, with the NBA making up the gap between the two figures.
Pelicans Waive Dalen Terry
The Pelicans have requested waivers on guard/forward Dalen Terry, the team announced on Friday (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic).
New Orleans just acquired Terry (and two second-round picks) on Thursday in the trade that sent Jose Alvarado to New York. The Knicks landed Terry in a separate deal with Chicago.
The 18th overall pick in the 2022 draft after two college seasons at Arizona, Terry never developed into a reliable rotation player in his three-and-a-half years with the Bulls. The 6’6″ wing has appeared in 34 games in 2025/26, averaging 3.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 11.1 minutes per contest.
Assuming Terry goes unclaimed, which seems highly likely, the Pelicans will carry a dead-money cap hit of $5,399,118. They also opened a spot on their standard roster, and Guillory suggests the team plans to promote Bryce McGowens from his two-way contract.
Still just 23 years old, Terry could be a candidate to catch on with another team before the season ends. For what it’s worth, he would qualify for a two-way deal that covers the remainder of ’25/26 once he hits free agency and is eligible to sign with any team except the Knicks.
Wizards Sign Keshon Gilbert To 10-Day Contract
The Wizards have signed Keshon Gilbert to a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.
Gilbert, a 6’4″ guard, spent two years at UNLV and two seasons at Iowa State prior to going undrafted last June. He signed an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with the Wizards in mid-September and was waived at the end of that month, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The 22-year-old has been playing for Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, during the 2025/26 season. In 29 appearances with the Go-Go (27.2 minutes per game), he has averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals on .457/.220/.781 shooting.
The Wizards had an opening on their 15-man standard roster after Skal Labissiere‘s 10-day deal expired last night, so no corresponding move was required to sign Gilbert, who will earn $73,153 over the next 10 days.
Hornets Waive Simpson, Sign Evbuomwan To Two-Way Deal
3:10 pm: Evbuomwan has officially signed his two-way contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
2:11 pm: The Hornets have waived guard KJ Simpson, the team announced today (Twitter link).
The 42nd overall pick in the 2024 draft, Simpson signed a two-year, two-way contract with Charlotte as a rookie that summer and remained on that deal until today. He has appeared in a total of 50 regular season games for Charlotte since making his debut in the fall of 2024, averaging 7.3 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.
Simpson has posted a subpar shooting line of .346/.266/.773 in his 50 NBA outings and struggled with his shot in the G League this year too, making just 37.6% of his attempts from the floor and 24.1% from beyond the arc in 11 games with the Greensboro Swarm. He has been sidelined since mid-January due to a left hip injury.
Charlotte will fill its newly created two-way opening by signing forward Tosan Evbuomwan, agent George S. Langberg tells ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
A former Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton, Evbuomwan went undrafted in 2023 and has spent the two-and-a-half seasons since then bouncing back and forth between the NBA and G League.
The 6’8″ forward signed 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies and Pistons as a rookie before finishing that season on a two-way deal with Detroit, then spent the majority of his second season on a two-way deal with Brooklyn. Evbuomwan was waived by the Nets this past August and signed a new two-way contract with the Knicks in September before being cut by New York last month.
Evbuomwan, who has also made 50 total appearances at the NBA level, has been playing for the Maine Celtics since being let go by the Knicks. He has averaged 19.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 4.7 APG in nine contests (35.2 MPG) for Boston’s NBAGL affiliate in recent weeks.
The Hornets will be able to have Evbuomwan active for up to 19 NBA games for the rest of the season.