The NBA offseason has only been underway for a few weeks after the New York Knicks won the championship for the first time since most of us have been alive.
We are less than a full month into the offseason and yet the Michigan State Spartans in the NBA are already experiencing one of the craziest offseasons in recent memory.
Every now and then, there’s a shocking trade or offseason roster move involving Spartans in the NBA but it feels like every one of them has experienced major changes. From Draymond Green to Miles Bridges to even Gary Harris, the Spartans in the league have been in the headlines for a few weeks straight.
Let’s start with the one player who hasn’t experienced much, if any, change this offseason: Jase Richardson. The Spartans rookie had a quiet first year but showed flashes of being an offensive weapon off the Magic bench. He’ll be participating in NBA Summer League action next week.
OK, now that the boring part is out of the way, let’s get into the craziness.
Miles Bridges involved in mini ‘blockbuster’ trade
Mat Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns made a heck of a move on Sunday, trading Royce O’Neal, Grayson Allen, and a future first-round pick for Bridges and two draft picks. The Suns now add a guy who can score 20 points per game to complement Devin Booker who nearly committed to the Spartans as a five-star in the 2014 class.
No one saw this coming, but the Hornets are clearly blowing things up after trading LaMelo Ball earlier in the week. Bridges is going to be a nice fit with the Suns.
Draymond Green makes Warriors a favorite to land LeBron
The big news on Monday was about Draymond declining his $27 million player option for 2026-27 to become a free agent. This may seem like a crazy move, but he’s trying to free up some cap space for the Warriors to sign LeBron James this offseason. He’s likely re-signing with the Warriors and he hopes his pay-cut leads to LeBron joining Golden State.
The domino effect that will come from this declined player option will be extensive.
On top of this player option decision, Draymond has been publicly trolling new teammate Yaxel Lendeborg from Michigan.
Other Spartans in the NBA tidbits
Max Christie was in the headlines for a light-hearted reason as he trolled new teammate Morez Johnson by wearing a Michigan State jersey during the rookie’s welcome presser. He did experience a major change, though. Michigan’s Dusty May will be his new head coach. This will be interesting.
Gary Harris accepted his $3.8 million player option with the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s good to see him still around as a veteran depth piece in the NBA.
Jaren Jackson Jr. hasn’t had an eventful offseason but his 2025-26 season was his most chaotic yet as he was traded from the Grizzlies to the Utah Jazz in the winter. This was one of the biggest blockbuster trades during the regular season.
Lastly, Xavier Tillman decided to head overseas instead of seek another NBA contract. His minutes had dwindled over the past few years so he decided to go somewhere he could play meaningful minutes and still get paid well.
Oh, and Jaxon Kohler (Jazz) and Carson Cooper (Grizzlies) will be participating in the NBA Summer League next month as well.
What an offseason for Spartans in the NBA.
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